You’d think that Mitsubishi’s current fuel-economy cheating scandal would send automakers running for the hills to distance themselves from the company, but the opposite is true for Nissan. Nissan Motor Company is spending 237 billion yen (approximately $2.1 billion) to buy a 34-percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and become the company’s top shareholder.
Nissan takes the reins from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which currently has a 20 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors. The reasoning behind this decision is more focused on the Asian market than the U.S. market, as Nissan could stand to gain from Mitsubishi’s popularity in countries including Thailand and Indonesia. In a statement, the two companies committed to future collaboration on “purchasing, common vehicle platforms, technology-sharing, joint plant utilization, and growth markets.” Nissan and Mitsubishi were already tied up in Japan, where the two companies operate a joint venture called NMKV to develop and build kei cars, including the Mitsubishi eK Wagon and eK Space and the Nissan Dayz and Dayz Roox (pictured below). These four models were also the first to be identified in the recent fuel-economy scandal. The popularity of these diminutive city cars in Japan makes them crucial to any automaker’s success, as reports say they make up around 60 percent of Mitsubishi’s domestic sales and 30 percent of Nissan’s. The two companies had already been o...