Mitsubishi may join Honda and Nissan’s wide-ranging partnership

Mitsubishi already has links with Honda and Nissan, and now it’s reportedly planning to join a wide-ranging partnership announced by them in March.

The Nikkei reported on Sunday that Mitsubishi will work with Honda and Nissan to finalize the details of the partnership.

Honda and Nissan’s partnership covers areas such as software platforms, core EV components, and other related products, and according to Nikkei the automakers together with Mitsubishi want to standardize in-vehicle software systems.

According to Nikkei, Mitsubishi teaming up with Honda and Nissan will leave Japan with two dominant auto groups. One will be Toyota and its associated brands and the other will be the alliance between Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. Combined, the two groups last year sold over 19 million vehicles.

Nissan already owns 34% of Mitsubishi and the two share platforms and technology via their existing alliance that also includes Renault. Mitsubishi has also collaborated with Honda in the past, most recently in the area of battery leasing for EVs via a joint venture called Altna.

Japanese automakers are consolidating in an effort to reduce costs but also catch up in the EV race after years of promoting hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative. Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru also in May announced plans to collaborate on internal-combustion engine development.

The moves are aimed at fending off competition from international rivals, particularly China which last year overtook Japan to become the world’s largest vehicle exporter.