- Mitsubishi, already partly owned by Nissan, could be joining a partnership with Honda
- The potential joint venture could see the three companies co-working on electric vehicles
- Mitsubishi hasn’t confirmed the partnership, but it hasn’t denied it either
Back in March, Nissan and Honda announced they were looking into a partnership set on building electric vehicles (EVs) and the software needed for them. Now, it appears Mitsubishi is thinking of joining in as well. That’s according to Tokyo-based news agency Nikkei, which said those three companies combined sell more than eight million vehicles globally each year. If the deal does go through, Nikkei said it will basically divide the Japanese domestic market into the two companies of the Toyota Motor group; and a Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.
Neither Nissan nor Honda has commented on the report, but Mitsubishi’s head office in Japan issued a statement saying, “On July 29, the Nikkei newspaper reported that Mitsubishi Motors will join the Honda-Nissan alliance. However, the article is based on their own reporting and is not based on any announcements made by Mitsubishi Motor. Nothing has been decided at this time.” Which isn’t saying the companies are talking about it — but also isn’t saying they aren’t.
In March 2024, Nissan and Honda said they had signed a memorandum of understanding “under which they will begin a feasibility study of a strategic partnership in the fields of vehicle electrification and intelligence,” as Nissan said in a press release at the time.
What Nissan didn’t mention was any decision about Mitsubishi — and Nissan holds 34% of that automaker. In turn, both of them are part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, created in 1999 and later adding Mitsubishi. It took a decidedly weird turn in 2018 when chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested for allegedly misusing company funds and then, in 2019, fled the country by hiding in a cello case — seriously, we can’t make this stuff up.
In 2023, the Alliance members agreed to a restructuring that would downsize the partnership and make it “more agile,” and that’s likely how Nissan is able to reach out to Honda about working together.
Partnerships on EVs are nothing new; joining forces better helps automakers to spread the mountains of money required to development and market new technologies, especially in these lower-volume vehicles. Electric vehicles sharing their platforms and engineering include the Honda Prologue and Chevrolet Blazer EV; and the Toyota BZ4X and Subaru Solterra.
Automakers that traditionally make gasoline vehicles but are adding EVs face fierce competition from Tesla, and globally from Chinese companies that are making a number of affordable plug-in models. Nissan sold 140,000 EVs globally in 2023, while Honda sold 19,000. That year, Tesla sold 1.8 million, and China’s BYD sold 1.57 million.
Nikkei is reporting that Mitsubishi has signed a nondisclosure agreement with Honda and Nissan, which respectively are the second- and third-largest auto companies in Japan. The newspaper also said Honda and Nissan will likely develop EV software together, and then discuss how it will be used in Mitsubishi’s vehicles. A partnership, if there is one, could also help fill holes in the automakers’ lineups, such as with Mitsubishi, which makes pickup trucks and plug-in hybrids for global markets, and which are missing in Honda’s portfolio.
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