Nissan Motor is considering collaborating with Honda Motor on key components for electric vehicles, aiming to reduce production costs.
The potential partnership with local rival Honda would help Nissan, which is crucial for Japanese automakers given fierce competition from China’s BYD (002594.SZ), Tesla (TSLA.O) and other electric vehicle. Although the sources remained anonymous due to confidentiality, Nissan and Honda have not yet started formal discussions, with the scope of the partnership remaining unclear.
Read also: Data of thousands of Nissan customers stolen in cyberattack
The idea for the partnership came up between executives at Nissan and Honda, the sources said. Nissan is considering working with Honda on shared EV parts and “kei cars” – vehicles built primarily for the domestic market. The hypothetical partnership could also expand internationally, with implications for Honda’s existing partnership with General Motors (GM.N), the sources said. Nissan first approached Honda through TV Tokyo, and a Nissan spokesman declined to comment. spokesman declined to comment. A Honda source said a possible partnership with Nissan was being considered as one of the options, with several issues to be resolved before it could move forward. Honda aims to reach 100% of its sales from electric and fuel cell vehicles by 2040. In Europe, Nissan is already working with Renault on electric vehicles, with Nissan's next electric Micra using the same architecture as the new Renault Five and being built in northern France.
See also: Honda's electric UNI-ONE combines VR and mobility
Nissan has pledged to invest up to 600 million euros in Renault’s new company , Ampere. Last year, the two companies reduced the scope of a multi-year alliance to allow for more flexible cooperation. Since then, Renault has signed deals with new partners including China’s Geely (GEELY.UL).
Source: reuters.com
