TOKYO -- Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have entered into discussions to standardize basic software that controls their vehicles to try to catch up to Chinese electric-vehicle makers and Tesla of the U.S., Nikkei has learned.
The two Japanese companies plan to introduce vehicles equipped with the new software by the late 2020s. In December 2024, the two carmakers entered talks to form the world's third-largest automotive alliance.
Although the negotiations collapsed due to differences over terms, discussions on collaboration continued. The two have been jointly conducting basic research on software technology since August 2024 and had said they would decide whether to develop it for mass production based on the results. With a shared goal on software integration, the partnership is moving forward.
In next-generation vehicles, enhancing driving performance through software updates is expected to be a key to competitiveness. Collaborating on operating software could allow the carmakers to charge customers for updates, transforming the traditional business model of relying on one-off car sales.
Honda and Nissan will collaborate on the development of software-defined vehicles. While the functionality of traditional vehicles largely relies on hardware such as engines and parts, SDVs can offer better performance and add features through software updates over the internet.
Honda and Nissan are currently both working on their own separate software platforms, which they plan to use in their respective vehicles from 2026.
Moving forward, they will jointly create an easy-to-use, customizable platform akin to Apple's iOS and Google's Android and use it in next-generation vehicles to be released in the late 2020s.
The companies also have their sights on standardizing such parts as high-performance semiconductor devices and motors. The more areas where they share the burden of development, the more they can cut costs.
Honda and Nissan decided to work together out of concerns over a potential battle for data crucial to SDVs. As competition in next-generation vehicles will center on autonomous driving and in-vehicle amenities, collecting vast amounts of data will be key to competitiveness. Using another company's software could limit how a vehicle's data can be used.
Development costs will likely be in the trillions of yen (1 trillion yen equals about $6.8 billion). The number of lines of code in vehicle software is expected to increase sixfold from 2020 to 2030. The more lines of code, the higher the development costs. Developing the platform together will help Honda and Nissan keep these costs down.
Also with an eye to keeping production costs down, Honda is introducing gigacasting -- a form of aluminum die-casting that produces large body parts -- from 2026. Nissan will also start using gigacasting in certain models from fiscal 2027.
The global market for SDVs will reach $301 billion in 2034, according to Canada's Precedence Research -- a sevenfold increase from 2023.
Tesla has its own basic software and resolves around 40% of recalls with software updates. In China, such tech giants as Huawei Technologies are leading the way in vehicle software innovation.
Traditional automakers have run into challenges hiring software engineers, making it difficult to develop platforms on their own.
Toyota Motor is jointly developing a software platform with Mazda Motor. In June, 11 European auto and parts manufacturers agreed to jointly develop software.
