Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. reportedly confirmed its partnership to research and develop electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology, The Japan News recently learned. According to the report, the two Japanese automakers formed an equal-part joint venture to work on Level 4 self-driving tech and focus on improving and advancing electric vehicle batteries, among other things.
The pairing of Nissan and Mitsubishi continues an already preexisting partnership between the two automakers, both of which are already sharing technology and production resources to produce several models. For instance, the current fourth generation Mitsubishi Outlander utilizes the same Renault-Nissan CMF-CD platform, chassis, and many other components as the current Nissan Rogue.
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Nissan already owns 34% of Mitsubishi and Honda joining will create a first-ever strategic partnership between these three Japanese automakers.
Project And Prototype Testing Will Commence In 2025
While many specifics and details regarding the partnership are still rather sparse, both Nissan and Mitsubishi entered the agreement pledging to fund the project equally, with product testing scheduled to begin sometime in 2025. According to the report, Nissan projects to increase sales by nearly ¥2.5 trillion Japanese yen, or the equivalent of $16,142,779,650 USD by 2030, for all of its sales-related businesses, which will help eventually fund the return on investment on these projects.
Their efforts with electric vehicle batteries will focus mainly on improving capacity and performance and developing the use of electric car batteries for at-home auxiliary electricity storage. The latter is the same sort of technology that allows electric vehicles like the Ford F-150 Lightning to power a home and its appliances, should the central grid infrastructure experience a blackout.
The same electricity storage would be used to feed back into the grid, allowing owners to sell the stored electricity in their EVs back to the power companies during high-demand periods. Other aspects of the joint venture’s focus on battery technology include improving the recycling and reuse of used EV batteries, with the hope and intent of reducing EV battery waste.
Both Automakers Will Develop Different Sides Of Autonomous Driving Tech
While Nissan plans to focus on developing and engineering future vehicles that will use the new autonomous driving tech soon to be under development in the joint venture, Mitsubishi is responsible for working on the software, which is expected to integrate new artificial intelligence to help the system determine optimal routes, depending on a variety of factors.
Additionally, Mitsubishi plans to further invest in more tech start-ups and other small companies to help produce and program the software needed for this future Level 4 autonomous driving tech.
To field-test the systems and prove their concepts, both automakers plan to introduce new self-driving taxis domestically in the Japanese market, similar to Jaguar teaming up with Waymo for some of its driverless ride share programs. Other experiments will help in the research of the self-driving tech, which is planned to take place in major areas such as Yokohama, the Fukishima Prefecture, Namie, and the Kanagawa Prefecture.
So far Nissan’s entered a number of agreements and cooperative partnerships with various other automakers to develop new technologies for future products. Earlier this year, the Japanese automaker teamed up with BMW, Ford, and Honda to improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Additionally, Nissan already owns a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors since the formation of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in 2016.
Source: The Japan News
