Key facts
- Nissan and Honda are collaborating on AI-powered self-driving vehicle technology.
- The Japanese automakers are partnering with startups to accelerate development.
- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has joined the alliance.
- The collaboration includes sharing electric vehicle components like batteries and joint research on autonomous driving software.
- The companies aim to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs through this partnership.
Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda are intensifying their efforts to develop artificial-intelligence-powered self-driving vehicles by partnering with startups and other industry players. This strategic shift away from solely in-house development aims to close the gap with leading U.S. and Chinese companies in the rapidly evolving automotive sector.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has also joined the alliance, with all three companies recognizing the critical need for speed and scale in response to dramatic industry changes, particularly electrification. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe emphasized that companies failing to adapt cannot survive, and individual efforts are insufficient to catch up.
The collaboration includes sharing components for electric vehicles, such as batteries, and adopting the same specifications for motors and inverters for EV axles. The companies also plan to jointly research software for autonomous driving. This approach, described by Mibe and Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida as "making friends," is intended to achieve economies of scale, reduce costs through increased volume, and enable more strategic investments in technology.
Despite the shared vision, partnership negotiations have encountered delays due to disagreements over specific details, particularly concerning U.S. production. The companies have declined to comment on whether the partnership will extend to mutual capital ownership, though they have not ruled it out. Each company will continue to offer its own distinct model lineups while sharing resources in component and software development.