Nissan and Honda building a software-defined EV? The Japanese automakers revealed a new partnership Thursday as they look to keep pace with Tesla and others leading the SDV movement.
Nissan and Honda deepen EV alliance with SDVs
After confirming plans to partner up in March, Nissan and Honda are deepening their alliance. The Japanese automakers announced a new agreement to design and develop next-gen software-defined EVs.
Nissan and Honda will work together to promote EV adoption with a focus on software-defined vehicles (SDVs).
Like many rivals, the two believe that software (including autonomous driving, connectivity, and AI) will βdetermine the value of vehicles in the future.β Nissan and Honda view the new tech as a βsource of competitiveness.β
Nissan and Honda plan to design and develop tech to power next-gen SDV platforms. Over the next year, the two plan to complete basic research.
Based on the results, they will βconsider the possibility of mass production development.β Nissan and Honda will also develop battery tech and e-Axles to power new global vehicles.
In a separate press release, Mitsubishi announced it was joining the new alliance. βMitsubishi Motors has unique technologies and expertise and has been collaborating with Nissan as a partner,β Nissanβs CEO Makoto Uchida said.
Mitsubishiβs CEO Takao Kato explained, βCollaboration with partners is essential in todayβs auto industry,β with EVs and other tech rapidly developing.
Electrekβs Take
With Japanese automakers being some of the biggest laggards in the auto industryβs shift to electric, itβs no surprise they are partnering up.
The Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi partnership comes as Tesla and Chinese EV makers like BYD continue expanding in key global markets, including Japan, taking market share.
BYD is breaking into Japanβs seemingly impenetrable auto industry. While domestic automakers like Toyota, Nissan, and Honda dominate the market, most imports have historically been from German luxury automakers like Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
Although imports fell 7% in Japan through the first half of 2024, EV imports climbed 17%. BYD led the way, with imports surging 184% YOY, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.
And thatβs just one market. BTD is quickly expanding into other key overseas markets like Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico, which are vital to Japanese exports.
Nissan and Honda deepening their alliance (with Mitsubishi joining in) comes as Toyota, Japanβs largest automaker, saw global sales slide 5% in June.
Toyotaβs sales are down 0.9% through the first half of 2024, led by double-digit declines in China, Indonesia, and Thailand. The Japanese automaker blamed a βchallenging market environmentβ and βintensified price competitionβ for the reason behind the fallout.
BYD continues slashing prices, making it hard for foreign automakers to compete. BYD expects joint venture brandsβ share to fall from around 40% to 10% in China.
Japanese automakers are not the only ones looking to play catch up with Tesla and BYD. American automakers like Ford have announced similar plans.
Ford is working on a low-cost EV platform with software at its heart. Fordβs CEO Jim Farley has warned multiple times that Tesla and Chinese EV makers are the βultimate competition.β Last month, Farley said he expects many rivals will turn to China for EV platforms.
Source: Nissan, Honda