Nissan hasn’t found the greatest successes when it comes to EV. It entered the market early with the Nissan Leaf, and despite once being the best-selling EV in the world, the electric hatchback has since long lost the title to Tesla. Its flagship and more recent model, the Nissan Ariya, has also been plagued with production headaches and general low demand, leading to low sales and ultimately forced Nissan to cut prices in the US in a bid to regain some footing in the EV market.
The Japanese carmaker’s fortunes might soon be changing, though, as Nissan today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Honda to explore a collaboration in EVs and “intelligence”.
The press release did not divulge much info beyond stating that the parties will carry out feasibility studies into “automotive software platforms and “core components related to EVs”. Nikkei Asia, however, previously reported that the collaboration could see the two companies jointly develop a common EV platform and powertrain, as well as potentially joint battery procurement, according to several unnamed sources within Nissan.
The Japanese carmaker has a long-standing partnership with French carmaker Renault as part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which already includes EV development as one of their main targets. Honda, on the other hand, recently scrapped its partnership with General Motors to develop affordable EVs, saying that it was “difficult as a business”.
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Japanese marques in general have been slow to the EV transition, as companies like Toyota opting for a “multi-pathway” approach that heavily focuses on hybrids, and even hydrogen, in addition to just purely electric. However, with the rise of cheap Chinese EVs particularly in markets like Southeast Asia, Japanese carmakers are now forced to make concessions and revisions in order to retain their market shares.
Nissan in February last year announced its revised Ambition 2030 strategy in February last year, which would see the company release 19 new EVs by 2030, as part of 27 new electrified models that would have rolled out by that time. Honda’s plans, meanwhile, will include 30 EVs by 2030, before becoming a fully electric manufacturer by 2040.
The latter has since announced a partnership with Sony for the Afeela brand, and also announced a new line-up of “global EVs” as part of the Honda 0 Series, headlined by two concept vehicles at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Honda has also previously said that it would be “willing to form an alliance” for more affordable EVs.
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