TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors (OTC:) is ready to affix an alliance between Honda (NYSE:) Motor and Nissan (OTC:) Motor, creating an auto group with mixed gross sales of greater than 8 million automobiles, the enterprise day by day stated on Sunday.
Mitsubishi Motors, which is 34% owned by Nissan, will work with Honda and Nissan to finalise the main points of their partnership, however the three corporations intend to standardise in-vehicle software program that controls automobiles, Nikkei stated.
Mitsubishi Motors declined to touch upon the report, whereas officers at Nissan and Honda weren’t instantly out there for remark.
The push comes as Nissan, Japan’s third largest automaker, has been steadily shedding market share in its two largest markets, the USA and China, which collectively accounted for half of its world gross sales within the yr to March.
On Thursday, the corporate slashed its annual outlook after heavy discounting within the U.S. nearly utterly worn out its first-quarter revenue.
Collaboration may assist Japan’s automakers minimize prices and beef as much as battle powerful competitors in electrical automobiles, dominated by firms like China’s BYD (SZ:) and Tesla (NASDAQ:).
In China, the world’s largest auto market, Japanese manufacturers beforehand had been sturdy however at the moment are up in opposition to home automakers which have quickly elevated manufacturing and gained over customers with low-priced automobiles loaded with software program.
Nissan and Honda stated in March they had been contemplating a strategic partnership on producing EV parts as they search to achieve a higher foothold within the world marketplace for battery-powered automobiles, which is anticipated to develop over the approaching years.