Nissan and Honda are teaming up to build EVs

For the first time, two Japanese auto giants with rich motorsport heritage are teaming up to develop electric vehicles.

Nissan and Honda have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to study a possible strategic collaboration on electric vehicles and related software.

The final deal between the two auto giants has yet to be agreed upon, but both are considering broad cooperation in things like platform sharing, EV battery, and electric powertrain development, as well as complementary components such as sharing autonomous driving technologies.

Both Nissan and Honda believe the tie-up could speed up the development of EVs while bringing R&D costs down, as both parties can utilize each other’s strengths. Honda has been hard at work in reaching its goal of zero traffic accident fatalities with its Honda Sensing ADAS, while Nissan has plenty of experience with EVs with the Leaf.

This is also a way for both parties to keep up in the development race, as Japanese brands are facing stiff competition when it comes to EVs, particularly those from the PRC.

But since it’s only now that they have signed an MoU, perhaps it’s still a few years down the line before we see products of the Nissan-Honda collaboration.