Competitive Benchmarking Engineer

Honda, Nissan to roll out joint vehicle software in 2029 amid cost cuts. Japanese auto industry is facing a huge crisis, as the trade warfare between the US and Canada makes the North American market a dangerous proposition To fend off the growing Chinese competition, Honda is looking to cut more than USD 9 billion in costs over the next four years. As per the reports, the Japanese automaker has instructed suppliers to drastically reduce their prices while looking to roll out joint vehicle software with Nissan in 2029. The news emerges at a time when the Japanese auto industry is facing its biggest existential crisis, with the intense trade warfare between the United States and Canada putting the future of the North American market under tremendous uncertainty. In Southeast Asia, BYD and other Chinese electric vehicle makers are capturing sizeable market share, along with Latin America and Europe, powered by advanced software and battery technology, while keeping the price tags lower than their competitors. Honda expects its EV-related losses to ultimately total more than USD 12 billion, one of the biggest hits among global automakers, and is now shifting its focus to gasoline-electric hybrids. In May it reported its first-ever annual loss as a publicly traded company. Honda, known for its flagship CR-V sport-utility vehicle, now aims to save 1.5 trillion yen (USD 9.4 billion) by 2030, reported Reuters. The automaker is currently working with suppliers globally to improve competitiveness and reduce costs, including through the use of standardised parts. In a reported meeting held at a convention center in Utsunomiya, a city north of Tokyo near the automaker's R&D facility, Honda managers met with the company's major suppliers, during which the latter was asked to source more components from Chinese suppliers. Suppliers, from their part, presented with company-specific cost-cutting targets. Honda is aiming to reduce costs by 30% in three key parts categories: pressed and forged components, electrical parts, and parts related to software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Such a reduction, as per Honda's projections, would allow Japanese suppliers to better compete with Chinese rivals. Honda's direct suppliers, or "tier-one" suppliers, have been asked to review their procurement methods while being requested to use standardised parts sourced from second- and third-tier suppliers to help keep costs down. The tie-up with Nissan will see the duo jointly developing standardised electronic control units (ECUs) for software-defined vehicles (SDVs), deepening their collaboration on more advanced car technology. "The companies plan to introduce an architecture incorporating the jointly developed ECUs and software in next-generation vehicles from the 2029 financial year onwards," Nissan and Honda said in a joint statement. The agreement gives fruition to the 2024 talks, in which the duo announced their intention to jointly research next-generation software platforms. In the meantime, they considered merging to create the world's fourth-largest automaker but ultimately abandoned the idea. The new partnership aims to establish common specifications for core ECUs within their vehicles' electrical and electronic architecture, as well as operating systems and parts of the middleware and vehicle-control software. As Honda keeps on fighting the headwinds like US import tariffs and higher labour expenses, CEO Toshihiro Mibe, in June, won support for his reappointment to the automaker's board. While former Honda executives have been in favour of Mibe resigning over the company's poor performance, the automaker also faces the growing need to invest in research and development of technology as cars become more advanced, raising costs across the industry.

Honda and Nissan form tech alliance. By Hasn Zahari September 1, 2026 Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. have entered into an agreement to jointly develop standardized multiple vehicle electronic control units for next-generation software-defined vehicles. The companies plan to use the jointly developed electrical/electronic architecture and software in their next-generation SDVs in fiscal year 2029 and beyond. The agreement includes the development of an in-vehicle operating system and key parts of middleware and vehicle control software. This collaboration is expected to strengthen the companies' competitiveness through faster development cycles and more efficient investments. The companies will work to establish common specifications for multi-core vehicle ECUs within the E/E architectures. By standardizing these core vehicle sub-systems, Honda and Nissan aim to leverage their combined engineering expertise and development resources to accelerate innovation and reduce vehicle development costs. They conducted extensive studies on potential collaboration in the vehicle software domain, which led to the agreement, after first announcing plans for a strategic collaboration in March 2024. In December 2024, Honda and Nissan signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential merger that would have also included Mitsubishi. However, in February 2025, the companies officially canceled all merger plans, but agreed to work together on a strategic partnership that includes electric vehicles and AI. The partnership is not unique in the industry, as other collaborations on the development of advanced SDV platforms with high-performance compute and AI capabilities have been announced. For example, Stellantis unveiled its new STLA One standardized vehicle platform in May, which the automaker plans to utilize for over 30 models totaling 2 million units by 2035. Nissan's new long-term strategic vision, dubbed "Mobility Intelligence for Everyday Life," focuses on launching AI-defined vehicles with new electrified powertrains along with a reduced product portfolio. Nissan's collaboration with Honda is expected to support this vision. The agreement between Honda and Nissan also includes future collaboration opportunities across a range of areas, including the software domain of SDVs. They believe that this domain is key for vehicle intelligence and electrification, and they aim to work together to accelerate innovation and boost competitiveness. By working together, Honda and Nissan can leverage their combined resources and expertise to develop more efficient and effective vehicle systems. This collaboration is expected to have a positive impact on the companies' competitiveness and ability to innovate in the rapidly changing automotive industry. Collaborations like the one between Honda and Nissan are likely to become more common as the automotive industry continues to evolve. The development of standardized vehicle hardware and software is expected to play a key role in this evolution, enabling companies to accelerate innovation and reduce costs.

Nissan and Honda team up on software-defined vehicle technology. Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda are joining forces to develop the software and electronic architecture that will power their next generation of software-defined vehicles (SDVs), with the jointly developed technology expected to appear in vehicles from fiscal year 2029 onward. Under a new joint development agreement, the Japanese automakers will standardize several core electronic control units (ECUs), along with an in-vehicle operating system, key middleware components and vehicle control software. The partnership reflects the growing importance of software in modern electric vehicles and connected cars. Rather than treating software as a supporting feature, automakers are increasingly using centralized computing, over-the-air updates and software-based vehicle controls as foundations for future vehicle development. Nissan and Honda target a common SDV architecture. The two companies plan to establish common specifications for multiple core ECUs used within the electrical and electronic (E/E) architecture of their next-generation SDVs. The work will also cover the vehicle operating system and selected middleware technologies that connect software applications with the vehicle's underlying hardware. Vehicle control software will be another major area of joint development. Nissan and Honda say standardizing these fundamental technologies should allow both companies to combine engineering resources and reduce duplication during development. The resulting architecture is expected to help Nissan and Honda develop new vehicle technologies more quickly while lowering development costs and improving economies of scale. Software becomes a critical EV battleground. The agreement comes as the automotive industry moves toward increasingly software-centric vehicles. Software-defined vehicles can support features and improvements throughout a vehicle's life, including remote software updates, enhanced driver-assistance functions, connected services and changes to vehicle performance or functionality. For automakers, however, developing the underlying software architecture requires significant investment and specialized engineering expertise. Sharing development work can therefore help reduce costs while allowing companies to redirect resources toward new technologies and customer-facing features. Nissan and Honda have identified SDV technology as a particularly important area for cooperation because software is increasingly central to vehicle intelligence and electrification. Part of a broader Nissan-Honda partnership. The companies have been exploring areas where closer cooperation could help accelerate their efforts toward carbon neutrality and safer mobility. The latest agreement expands that collaboration into one of the automotive industry's most important technology areas. By combining their development capabilities, Nissan and Honda hope to shorten development cycles and improve the efficiency of future vehicle programs. The companies will continue evaluating additional opportunities to work together while maintaining their respective strengths and brands. First applications expected from 2029. The jointly developed E/E architecture, ECUs and software are planned for use in Nissan and Honda's next-generation software-defined vehicles beginning in fiscal year 2029. The move could give both automakers a common technological foundation for future EVs and other connected vehicles while allowing them to differentiate products through their own vehicle designs, features and customer experiences. As the automotive industry shifts toward centralized vehicle computing and software-driven features, the Nissan-Honda collaboration highlights how traditional automakers are increasingly pooling resources to compete in the rapidly evolving EV and SDV market.