For a moment earlier this year, a merger between Nissan and Honda appeared inevitable. However, the deal suddenly fell through because Honda wanted to take over its rival entirely, rather than creating a joint venture where the two automakers would have been equals. Shortly afterward, Nissan’s CEO stepped down with the parting words that he was “unable to gain the confidence of some of our employees.”
Now, there’s a new development in the ongoing story. While the merger is still dead at the moment, Nissan isn’t ruling out other collaborations with Honda. They could even hypothetically include developing the next-gen GT-R and NSX together.
A Potential Partnership?
Nissan North America Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer Ponz Pandikuthira believes that cooperation with other automakers is a key to the company’s future. According to Pandikuthira, Nissan’s new CEO Ivan Espinosa has “never stopped talking with Honda.” A complete merger is still off the table, but they’re exploring potential partnerships.
“We need collaboration,” he told The Drive. “We’re going to need partnerships to deliver vehicles. I think partnerships are going to be a key part of our future.”
An Exciting, Hypothetical Project
As an example of what Nissan and Honda could do together, Pandikuthira brings up the theoretical possibility of the two companies collaborating on a future NSX and GT-R.
Pandikuthira was clear that this tantalizing project wasn’t actually in development. He was just giving an example of what Nissan and Honda could do as part of potential partnerships. He compared it to the way Aston Martin licensed Mercedes-AMG engines for the British marque’s sports cars.
“Can we do a next-generation NSX and GT-R off the same platform, make the NSX authentic to what it stands for and make a GT-R authentic to what it stands for? So they are not clones?” Pandikuthira told The Drive. “Can you co-develop two cars like that? I think we can.”
TopSpeed reached out to Nissan and Honda for further details. A spokesperson told us: Nissan and Honda are collaborating within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles, striving to create new value and maximize the corporate value of both companies.
During our conversation last week in New York, Pandikuthira was clear that none of this should be taken as confirmation that the future GT-R and NSX are being co-developed.
The Future
Pandikuthira’s statements fit with previous reporting about Nissan and Honda working together. Nissan Chief Performance Officer Guillaume Cartier also previously said that talks between the automakers never stopped, even if the merger plans failed. The companies have been planning to collaborate on electric vehicles and software development, including automotive applications of artificial intelligence. They’ve also discussed the possibility of a shared SUV platform..
TopSpeed’s Take
The tumultuous time for Nissan is one of the most fascinating developing stories in the current auto industry. In 2024, it seemed like the automaker was on the brink of going under. The situation has seemingly gotten better in 2025, though. The new CEO seems much more optimistic about the company’s future than his predecessor. Some execs at the automaker even think they can turn the tariffs into a money-making opportunity.
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