Why Mergers of Carmakers Like Honda and Nissan Often Falter

Nissan has more significant troubles than Honda and in recent years has slogged through management upheaval. In the United States, a critical market where Nissan used to earn significant profits, the company's market share has fallen sharply as it struggles to sell cars and trucks that haven't received significant upgrades in recent years. In the period from April to September, Nissan's operating profit plunged 90 percent, and the automaker recently said it aimed to lose 9,000 employees worldwide and cut global production by about 20 percent. A merger could help Honda and Nissan develop electric cars faster and at lower cost -- in theory. But other companies have struggled to achieve such gains in practice, often because the priorities of companies working together often shift and diverge. Ford Motor and Volkswagen teamed up a few years ago to work on electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology.