Mitsubishi joins Nissan-Honda partnership

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has joined the alliance of Nissan Motor Company and Honda Motor Company.

Yesterday (August 1), the three Japanese marques signed an agreement memorandum of understanding 1 to collectively start the discussions yielding toward further intelligence and electrification of automobiles based on the Nissan-Honda agreement inked last March 15.

Mitsubishi said in a statement that its participation in the areas of potential collaboration considered and discussed by the two automotive brands earlier will “add new knowledge and strengths” and “provide further synergies that can only be generated by the three companies, as well as new business opportunities.”

The then partnership between Nissan and Honda is about speeding up initiatives toward carbon neutrality and zero-traffic-accident society.

Makoto Uchida (Nissan), Toshihiro Mibe (Honda), and Takao Kato (Mitsubishi) — presidents and chief executive officers of the partnering brands — all are looking at positive results from the collaboration.

"We are very pleased to welcome a new member to the strategic partnership between Honda and Nissan. Mitsubishi Motors has unique technologies and expertise and has been collaborating with Nissan as a partner. Through collaboration among the three companies, we expect the partnership to evolve into something that creates greater value, and to deliver unique products and services from each company that meet the diverse needs of customers,” Uchida said.

"The automobile industry is in a period of transformation said to occur once in a century. We expect that the combination of technologies and knowledge cultivated by Nissan and Honda, as well as the strength and experience of Mitsubishi Motors, will enable us to more quickly resolve various issues related to electrification and intelligence on a global scale, and help lead societal reforms as a top runner,” Mibe, for his part, noted.

"Nissan and Honda’s discussions on a possible partnership have progressed, and we have decided to participate in this framework. Collaboration with partners is essential in today's automotive industry, which is undergoing rapid changes due to technological innovations such as electrification and intelligence. We believe that we can discover new possibilities in a variety of fields through collaboration among the three companies,” Kato explained.

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