Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn / When I look at the complementarity between Nissan and Honda, I see none. They are strong in the same fields, they are weak in the same fields. From an industrial point of view, there is duplication everywhere, so industrially for me, it does not make sense.

Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who made the remarks in an online news conference from Lebanon, said he was “surprised” by the two Japanese automaker’s merger announcement and it did not make sense industrially.

However, he also said that it made sense politically if Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry decided that it did not want to lose control of Nissan.