- Nissan and Honda’s merger collapsed last year, but they’re working together in a new way.
- The two companies announced they would develop common computers and operating systems for software-defined vehicles.
- Vehicles on these new platforms should roll out starting in 2029, the companies said on Monday.
It’s finally happening: Honda and Nissan are officially joining forces. The Japanese automakers nearly merged, but those negotiations fell through last year. Now the companies have announced concrete plans to work together on software-defined vehicles, as they both work to combat what’s coming out of China and Silicon Valley.
On Monday, the companies said they have entered into a joint development agreement to standardize core electronic control units (ECUs), vehicle operating systems, middleware, and vehicle control software for future vehicles. Specifically, the ECUs include high-performance main computers and zonal ECUs that control specific areas of the vehicle.
“Recognizing the need to strengthen competitiveness through faster development cycles and more efficient investment, the two companies have conducted extensive studies on potential collaboration in the software domain,” the companies said in a press release.
Photo by: Honda
While Honda’s press release doesn’t explicitly mention EVs, it says that the new ECUs and vehicle operating systems will underpin SDVs coming in 2029 and beyond. The press release also says that both brands will continue to explore technologies that “accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality.”
By joining forces to create common hardware and software, Honda and Nissan say they can develop technologies faster, while reducing development costs. Working off of the same computers and chips could also help them leverage greater economies of scale.
Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs
The partnership may be welcome news for two automakers that have struggled as of late—especially in EVs. Honda recently posted its first annual loss in its history as a public company and blamed, in part, fast-moving, high-tech competition in China. Honda’s Prologue is following the Acura ZDX out the door in the U.S., leaving the company without an EV in the country. Nissan’s global sales have fallen for six of the last seven fiscal years. It still has the Leaf but the Ariya died, too. Both brands working together may help them catch up to competitors like Hyundai, Toyota, and General Motors—not to mention BYD and Tesla.
Perhaps more importantly, this helps Honda and Nissan take on the growing Chinese market, where having good software-defined technology is crucial. This partnership might not be the last such team-up we see in Japan either. Toyota recently said that Japanese automakers should partner up if they want to survive against Chinese carmakers.
