Mitsubishi set to join Honda and Nissan in EV alliance

Mitsubishi is reportedly in talks to join Nissan and Honda’s electric vehicle program, which would see the three Japanese car-makers develop a new family of EVs and advanced software powered by artificial intelligence.

Nissan and Honda announced in March that they were collaborating on electric car components and a new automotive software platform.

Now, a report by Nikkei Asia in Japan reveals that Mitsubishi is also set to join the EV alliance in a bid to reduce the high costs involved with building new electric cars from the ground up.

The report also suggests the technical partnership could extend to creating plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains and even low-cost kei cars.

It’s understood that such a partnership has only become feasible with the reconfiguring of the original Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which now allows individual brands to work with other car-makers.

Mirroring what Toyota, Subaru and Mazda are doing with combustion engines and PHEVs, as well as these brands’ collaboration (with Suzuki) on EVs, the alliance between Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi will primarily share common EV parts like motors, inverters and batteries, plus the crucial software needed to operate them.

At the same time, Nissan has already pledged to invest €600 million ($A990m) with fellow French stablemate Renault’s electric vehicle business Ampere, with Mitsubishi also agreeing to chip in a further €200 million ($A330m).

Motivating Japanese and European car-makers to join forces is the growing concern of the influx of Chinese brands that are making big inroads into global markets, despite heavy tariffs imposed in some regions.

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