by Maki Shiraki
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese carmaker Nissan is considering an electric vehicle (EV) partnership with Honda to reduce production costs, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Such a partnership with Honda could allow Nissan to achieve economies of scale in the production of electric vehicles, which would allow Japanese manufacturers to better compete with Chinese manufacturers.
The sources at Nissan, who preferred to remain anonymous because the matter has not yet been made public, indicated that Nissan and Honda had not yet entered into formal discussions and that the scope of the partnership was not yet clear. had not yet been defined.
A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment. A Honda spokesperson said the company could not comment on the matter.
The leaders of the two manufacturers are due to hold a joint press conference at 3:30 p.m. (06:30 GMT) in Tokyo.
Nissan is reportedly considering a partnership with Honda on essential parts for electric vehicles, as well as on “kei cars”, small automobiles less powerful than other vehicles and which are intended for the Japanese market.
The partnership could extend to companies abroad, but this could affect the collaboration between Honda and General Motors, according to two of the sources.
Japanese business daily Nikkei reported this week that the partnership between the two Japanese automakers could include joint purchasing and development efforts.
A source at Honda said a partnership with Nissan was one of the possibilities being explored by the manufacturer, but that many issues must be resolved before it can proceed with such a combination.
Nissan still has significant electric cooperation with Renault, mainly focused on Europe.
The Japanese manufacturer has also committed to investing up to 600 million euros in Renault’s new entity dedicated to electricity and software, Ampère.
Nissan and Renault reorganized their historic alliance last year, and the French manufacturer has since created a joint venture in thermal and hybrid engines with the Chinese Geely.
(With the contribution of Kantaro Komiya and Satoshi Sugiyama, written by Makiko Yamazaki; Camille Raynaud)
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