© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Nissan Motor’s EV model Sakura is charged at a charging station in Yokohama, Japan, Nov. 3, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor is considering seeking a business partnership with Honda (NYSE:) Motor, TV Tokyo reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
Nissan (OTC:)’s board of directors decided in a meeting on Tuesday to consider a potential collaboration with its larger Japanese rival, the report said, without providing details on the type of partnership Nissan might seek.
A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment on the report, and said he did not know whether its board of directors met on Tuesday. A Honda spokesperson said there was nothing the company could say about the report.
Nissan, which has a long-standing alliance with French automaker Renault (EPA:), intends to sign a non-legally binding memorandum of understanding with Honda, TV Tokyo said, adding the areas where they would consider teaming up were not yet decided.
The business daily later reported that Nissan was looking at the possibility of collaborating with Honda in electric vehicles to better complete with Chinese rivals.
Specific steps could include the introduction of a common powertrain, joint procurement and development of a common platform, the Nikkei said, citing multiple Nissan sources.
The collaboration could potentially extend to battery procurement and joint development of electric vehicles, the Nikkei added.
Nissan already cooperates with Renault on EVs, mainly in Europe. The next Nissan electric Micra will share the same architecture as the new Renault Five and be built in the same plant in northern France.
Nissan has also committed to invest up to 600 million euros ($656.64 million) in Renault’s new electric vehicle entity Ampere.
Renault could not immediately be reached for comment.
Nissan’s global sales stood at 3.3 million vehicles in 2023, compared with nearly 4.0 million at Honda over that period, with both reporting a rise in overall global sales last year.
Both companies lost share in the world’s top auto market China last year amid heavy competition from BYD (SZ:) and other electric vehicle makers. Both may cut production in the country, the Nikkei newspaper said on Tuesday.
Among other Japanese automakers, the only one to sell more vehicles than Nissan and Honda last year was the world’s No. 1 automaker Toyota Motor (NYSE:).
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