Nissan/Honda announce electronic and software joint development agreement
Nissan and Honda announced Monday an agreement to work jointly on vehicle electronic and software systems, according to a press release from the automakers.
The joint development agreement is focused on standardizing multiple electronic control units (ECUs) that form the core of next-generation software-defined vehicles (SDVs), the release states. It adds that the agreement also will work on in-vehicle operating systems and key parts of the middleware and vehicle control software that runs ECUs.
News media in 2024 reported a merger of the two companies that was later denied by the companies.
At that time the companies said they were considering “various possibilities for future collaborations.” Weeks later, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “to start discussions and considerations toward a business integration” between the two companies via the establishment of a joint holding company.
“By February 2025, however, that plan had been scrapped, though the two companies continued to discuss ways to work together,” Car and Driver reports. “Today, we finally have an idea of how that collaboration might look, with Nissan and Honda announcing a joint-development agreement for electronic control units and software development.”
Nissan and Honda say that, as part of their partnership, they will continue to explore opportunities for collaboration across a range of areas to accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality and help realize a future with zero traffic fatalities.
“In particular, the software domain centered on SDVs, which is key to vehicle intelligence and electrification, has been identified as an important area of collaboration, given the rapid pace of technological innovation and the need to strengthen competitiveness through improved R&D speed and investment efficiency,” the release states.
The companies say they’ve conducted extensive studies on the potential of the collaboration in the software domain before agreeing to jointly develop and standardize the core ECUs and software.
“By standardizing these foundational technologies, Nissan and Honda aim to leverage their combined engineering expertise and development resources to improve efficiency, accelerate innovation, and enhance competitiveness through reduced development costs and greater economies of scale,” the release states.
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Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. following a 2024 announcement.