Tokyo, 29 July, /AJMEDIA/
Mitsubishi Motors Corp is in talks to join the Nissan Motor Co-Honda Motor Co alliance to play catch-up with foreign rivals in the development of electric vehicles and advanced technology for next-generation vehicles, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday.
The three Japanese automakers are considering teaming up to standardize in-vehicle software and for other joint operations, the sources said.
As Toyota Motor Corp is expanding its tie-ups with other local peers in developing vehicle electrification technology, the Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance will create two major groups in the Japanese auto industry.
Honda and Nissan said in March that they would consider cooperation in the EV segment. Mitsubishi is part of the three-way alliance with Renault SA and Nissan, which holds a 34.01 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors.
Toyota is in partnership with Suzuki Motor Corp, Mazda Motor Corp and Subaru Corp for the development of electrification technology.
The global auto industry is shifting to vehicles that are more connected, autonomous, shared and electric, or CASE, but it is tough for a carmaker to cover all the technologies alone.
The EV market is led by China’s BYD Co and Tesla Inc, with little presence of Japanese brands. With tech companies such as Sony Group Corp. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. joining the auto market, software and artificial intelligence are becoming an integral part of competitive advantage.
Honda recently decided to cut back production capacity for gasoline-powered vehicles in China, as demand for EVs is growing in the world’s largest auto market. Nissan is also looking to jump-start sluggish sales there with the introduction of new EV models.
The two carmakers are discussing joint development of core components such as drive units and batteries as well as in-vehicle software in an effort to cut hefty development costs.
Toyota plans to increase global EV sales to 3.5 million vehicles by 2030 with an investment of 5 trillion yen.
© KYODO
