Will Nissan’s 34% stake in Mitsubishi regain trust?

Nissan has stepped in and acquired 34% of Mitsubishi for an amount of 237 billion yen, or slightly easier to comprehend (but not really) 1.5 billion pounds.

The announcement comes at a time when Mitsubishi is being investigated for cheating emissions – although Mitsubishi now insists that only cars sold in Japan are affected. Mitsubishi’s share prices dropped 50% as news hit and orders halved in the Japanese market.

It is rumored that Mitsubishi has been cheating tests for the last 25 years with an estimated 625 000 cars, some of them were produced for Nissan.

The agreement is been hailed as a win-win and makes Nissan the largest single shareholder in its fellow Japanese automaker.

Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn said: “We will support Mitsubishi Motors as they address their challenges and welcome them as the newest member of our enlarged alliance family.

“This is a breakthrough transaction and a win-win for both Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. It creates a dynamic new force in the automotive industry that will cooperate intensively, and generate sizeable synergies.”

Osamu Masuko, chief executive at Mitsubishi Motors, added: “It is not an easy task to regain trust, so through the alliance with Nissan, we will be starting a path towards tackling this difficult task.”