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Mitsubishi is in talks with Honda and Nissan about joining the partnership established by the two automakers earlier this year, Nikkei Asia reports.
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The alliance will focus on electric vehicles and automotive software, as the Japanese manufacturers look to catch up to EV leaders like Tesla and BYD.
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The partnership could also bring new models for each automaker as they build on each other’s strengths, such as Mitsubishi’s lineup of hybrids in Japan.
Earlier this year Honda and Nissan signed a memorandum of understanding to begin weighing a partnership. The potential collaboration between the two large Japanese automakers is expected to focus on electric vehicles and automotive software platforms. Now Mitsubishi—which is 34-percent owned by Nissan—looks set to also get in on the deal, as reported by Nikkei Asia.
According to the publication, Mitsubishi will join the Honda-Nissan alliance and has reportedly began discussions with the two automakers after signing a nondisclosure agreement. The partnership is supposed to help the three automakers catch up with Tesla and powerful Chinese EV companies like BYD and Geely, which have already invested far more resources into research and development for EVs, as well as scaling up the supply chain.
In March, Honda and Nissan said it was “necessary to combine their strengths” and that the companies must “accelerate electrification and acceleration means investment and that requires achieving scale.” Honda’s CEO Toshihiro Mibe had suggested 2030 as a light deadline for Honda to be a “top runner” in the EV space.
A main focus of the agreement, Nikkei Asia reports, will be to standardize the in-vehicle software used across the brands, with Honda and Nissan developing the underlying software. The companies will discuss using the software architecture in Mitsubishis as well.
The alliance could also yield new models for the three brands, which can build on the strengths of each other’s lineups to plug gaps in their own arsenals. Mitsubishi sells plug-in hybrids and pickup trucks in Japan, two areas where Honda doesn’t compete in its home market. Mitsubishi could end up supplying vehicles for Honda, and the two companies may also collaborate on city cars, likely in Japan’s tiny kei car segment.
With Mitsubishi set to join the partnership, the three brands combined will have more than 8 million global sales, with 4.1 million from Honda, 3.4 million from Nissan, and roughly 800,000 from Mitsubishi through the fiscal year that ended in March 2024. If all goes according to plan, the Japanese domestic market would then be split into two major conglomerates: Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Toyota, which has links to Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, Daihatsu, and Hino Motors. All told, the Toyota-led group has a combined sales volume of 16 million units.
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