Carlos Ghosn undermines the Honda-Nissan alliance

Carlos Ghosn seems to keep a very particular place in his heart for Nissan. A good cat, a good rat!

Statements from Carlos Ghosn, former fallen master of Renault and Nissan, are rare. But the former Cost Killer has not lost his flair when it comes to settling some accounts with Nissan. As a reminder, what can be called the Ghosn-Nissan case began in November 2018 with the surprise arrest in Japan of Carlos Ghosn, then president of Nissan and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Accused of financial misconduct, including hiding income and abuse of corporate assets, he was quickly jailed. Ghosn immediately denounced a political machination orchestrated by Nissan to hinder a deeper merger with Renault, seen as a threat to the autonomy of the Japanese automaker.

While the accusations against Ghosn are likely exaggerated, the investigation quickly revealed completely groundless financial manipulations justifying broad sanctions. On the other hand, Renault’s acquisition of Nissan has never been accepted in Japan, and Ghosn has always borne the resentment of part of the Japanese establishment. The pressure cooker simply ended up exploding.

Under house arrest after several months in detention, Carlos Ghosn ultimately escaped dramatically in December 2019, hidden inside a musical equipment box, and sought refuge in Lebanon, his country of origin, which does not extradite its citizens.

The current situation of Nissan, which has far exceeded the stage of being just “on the edge of the abyss,” could only delight its former boss. In an interview with Manus Cranny of Bloomberg about the potential agreement between the Japanese automaker and Honda, Carlos Ghosn considers discussions of a merger between Nissan and Honda as a “desperate measure” revealing “Nissan’s panic state.” He points out the lack of complementarity between the two companies, sharing markets and similar products, which limits potential synergies. Ghosn suggests that the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is pushing Honda to accept this deal to boost the national economy, despite the lack of industrial logic. Being well-informed, he anticipates major conflicts, especially regarding the integration of technologies and the distinct cultures of the two manufacturers. He concludes, quite cleverly, that this fusion might ultimately be nothing more than a disguised takeover of Nissan by Honda to prevent a public bankruptcy that would amuse their big Chinese rival.