Consolidation and integration of procurement, something that Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn has long been preaching, is taking another step forward in the Japanese auto industry by the sounds of things($), and is likely to have a knock on effect in Europe. Honda is aiming to boost global production to 50% and to that end wishes to reduce its reliance on affiliates and source more globally.
It has already called in Denso (an affiliate of rival Toyota) and Bosch to talk through plans and has shaken Nissin, its own 35% Honda owned affiliate, into seeing that “we have to review our development capabilities and cost competitiveness from scratch” as their president Okawara says.
I took a quick look at Nissin’s presence in Europe and was surprised to see that they only have an R&D facility in Spain. Considering Honda has a major manufacturing presence in the UK, Italy, France and Turkey, I suspect we are going to see some rapid investment by Nissin in Europe to catch up.
For more content like this, subscribe to the free Rudlin Consulting Newsletter.
