Nissan-Renault alliance to join Google on self-driving cars

Automaker group goes all-in on outside partnerships for future of driving

20190205 nissan renault mitsubishi waymo

Google affiliate Waymo is viewed as a global leader in self-driving technology, while the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance logged combined sales of 10.8 million vehicles worldwide in 2018.

KEIICHI FURUKAWA and NATSUKI YAMAMOTO, Nikkei staff writers

February 5, 2019 18:00 JST

Updated on February 6, 2019 02:34 JST

TOKYO -- The alliance of Nissan Motor, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors plans to join Google's camp for developing autonomous taxis and other services using self-driving vehicles, Nikkei has learned.

The automakers intend to work with Waymo, a Google spinoff that is among the leaders in technology for self-driving cars. The companies are in the final phase of talks, and plan to announce the arrangement as early as spring.