Japan to court Tesla on Nissan investment in exchange for US factories

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Japanese High Level Group, which includes former prime minister, projects to invest in a struggle in the fighting in the fighting Nisan, following the collapse of its mergers with competing Honda.

The new proposal hosted by the former Tesla Council Hiro Mizuno supports former Prime Minister Yoshihide Souga and his former assistant Hirotto Izismum, according to three people, with the direct knowledge of that step. Several members of the Nisan Council are aware of the initiative.

The group hopes that Tesla will become a strategic investor because they think that the world’s largest clean electric car manufacturer wants to purchase Nissan plants in the United States. Factories will help stimulate home production in response to Donald Trump Tariff threatsA number

Plan to approach Tesla comes after Nissan walked away Honda’s $ 58 billion merger, the fear that Japan’s third largest liberation can fall into potentially hostile foreign hands, bypassing the group of Taiwan iPhone Assemblan Foxconn.

Negotiations with Honda originally arose after Foxconn went to Nissan’s partner Renault on buying its shares in Japan’s Carmaker last year. Foxconn after this month’s negotiation has been approved It is a way to expand its interest in Nissan’s shares to expand production business.

In 2021, Souga in the post of Prime Minister is still active in Japanese politics, continuing as a member of Japan’s lower home. He started his political career in Yokohama, where Nissan is based.

The proposal envisages the consortium of investors, with Thesela as the biggest slip, but also contains the possibility of introducing Foxconn minorities to prevent full assuming by Apple provider.

Nissan and Izumi refused to comment. Mizuno, Suga, Tesla and Musk did not answer the comment request.

In recent weeks, Nissan has started its search for a strategic partner in the field of technology industry, which is related to some tips that offer Tesla and Apple as ideal targets. It launched it in November Emergency turn plan It included 9,000 job losses when it fell into quarterly loss.

About 1.1tn is a market capitalization, Tesla is among the most valuable companies in the world. Historically, it has not invested it in the company’s company, and Musk is key to the company’s focus and spends 36 billion drams in autonomous driving and robotics.

But it also wants to promote production in the United States to compensate US President Donald Trump Threatening Tariffs:A number of groups collect all vehicles sold in the United States in the location, but produce some of its components from Mexico and other parts of the world.

Nissan has two collecting plants in Tennessee and Mississippi, with a combined annual capacity of about 1 million vehicles, but only in 2024. 525,000 units have been produced there. Flag Sale: Last week, it is said that it plans to cut shifts in two US plants.

Nissan may not easily accept US plants sales to the opponent, taking into account the local market growth and profit growth.

Light has been published in the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in recent months.

It was difficult to justify the transaction, as Japan greets the main semiconductor investment from Taiwan, and in the past Renault allowed to accommodate Nissan and Foxconn, but according to Japanese government officials.

In 2023, after the reorganization of his bloc, Renault wants to sell a large piece of 36 percent, it still has a high prize in the Japanese group.

In an interview, his chief executive director Luka de Meho said that he needed a proposal to reflect the value created through a 25-year-old partnership.

“I just hope that the Nissan management team finds it to work better than it has so far worked,” he said. “I give them all the support they need.”

Additional reports of Stepan Morris in San Francis in San Francis in Washington and Jan Hovhannes in Paris