Nissan shares fall over 6% as Mercedes-Benz plans to shed its stake in Japanese automaker

-Nissan Motor shares tumbled on Tuesday after Mercedes-Benz announced plans to offload its 3.8% holding in the Japanese automaker.

-Mercedes-Benz is Nissan’s second-largest shareholder after Renault, LSEG data showed.

Nissan Motor

shares tumbled on Tuesday after Mercedes-Benz announced plans to offload its 3.8% holding in the Japanese automaker.

Tokyo-listed shares of Nissan declined as much as 6.7% before paring some losses to trade 6% lower.

Mercedes-Benz’s pension trust will divest its stake worth roughly $346 million in Nissan Motor, a company spokesperson reportedly said on Monday.

The spokesperson added that Nissan holdings, which were moved into pension assets in 2016, were not strategically significant while framing the sale of the remaining 3.8% stake as part of a portfolio cleanup. Nissan stake makes up 2.7% of the company’s total holdings, with Diamler Truck constituting nearly 93%.

Mercedes-Benz is Nissan’s second-largest shareholder after Renault — 35.7% stake — LSEG data showed.

The move puts further strain on the Japanese automaker’s stock that has been under pressure from U.S. tariffs, declining sales and the transition to electric vehicles amid steep global competition, in particular from Chinese rivals.

Late last year, the firm entered short-lived discussions with Honda over a possible partnership that would have formed the world’s third-biggest carmaker, but negotiations fell apart in February.

In May, the company announced plans to slash 11,000 jobs and shut down seven plants. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said in June that the company’s short-term focus was to fix the struggling automaker as it undergoes major restructuring.

In July, U.S. auto tariffs were lowered to 15% from the previously announced 25% in some relief for Japanese automakers including Nissan. The original 25% tariff was halved to 12.5%, before adding a 2.5% “Most Favored Nation” base tariff, taking the total to 15%.

Nissan shares have declined more than 29% so far this year.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/26/nissan-shares-fall-over-6percent-as-mercedes-benz-plans-to-shed-3point8percent-stake.html

Moscow denies receiving weapons from Tehran – shipping records tell a different story

The Meduza report reveals that despite denials from Moscow and Tehran, Iran has likely supplied Russia with significant quantities of ammunition for use in the war in Ukraine. Transport data analyzed by Meduza and provided by C4ADS indicates that in November 2024 alone, Russia received more than 4,000 metric tons of ammunition from Iran via the Caspian Sea port of Olya in Russia’s Astrakhan region. These shipments, labeled as "explosive materials," were transported by rail to Russian military depots near the Ukrainian border. The evidence suggests the weapons were fresh from Iranian production lines.

The report details how containers carrying Iranian munitions pass through Russian ports and facilities linked to key military supply depots. Satellite imagery confirms growing stockpiles of ammunition at these depots. Analysts also note that the shipments include a variety of weapons, including mortar rounds, artillery shells, and rockets, although some specific missile types like the Fath-360 remain unconfirmed on the battlefield.

Despite this evidence, Russia and Iran continue to deny arms deliveries. Russian officials dismiss the accusations as falsehoods, and Iranian officials characterize them as attempts to justify Western military aid to Ukraine. The Kremlin and Iranian Foreign Ministry maintain that their cooperation does not include weapons shipments related to the Ukraine conflict.

The report also highlights Ukrainian military efforts to disrupt this supply chain, including drone strikes on ships and transport routes carrying Iranian munitions to the front lines.

In sum, the investigation uncovers a covert flow of Iranian weapons to Russia supporting Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, contrary to official denials from both countries.

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/08/19/straight-off-iranian-production-lines