Nissan, Honda eye partnership on charging software, infrastructure: Nikkei By Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese carmakers Nissan (OTC:) Motor and Honda (NYSE:) Motor Corp. is considering using standardized automotive software and working together on electric vehicle charging, the newspaper said Thursday, moves that could cut costs.

Nissan and Honda announced in March that they were exploring a strategic partnership to produce components for electric vehicles as they seek to gain a deeper foothold in the global battery-powered car market, which is expected to grow in the coming years.

Japan’s third- and second-largest automakers were seeking to jointly develop the operating system that controls the cars in a bid to cut costs, according to Nikkei, which did not say where it got the information.

Nissan and Honda could also work together to strengthen charging infrastructure to boost their competitiveness in electric vehicles, the Nikkei said, adding that they would consider cooperating in six areas under their potential partnership.

They are open to collaboration in any region, both in Japan and overseas, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said in March.

Representatives for Nissan and Honda did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the Nikkei report.

Nissan, which pioneered mass-market electric vehicles with the Leaf in 2010, and Honda face growing threats in an increasingly fierce global electric vehicle market, including from Tesla (NASDAQ:) and Chinese and South Korean automakers.

Both Japanese automakers have been hit hard in their key market, China, by consumers’ shift to low-cost, software-powered electric vehicles made by Chinese brands such as BYD (SZ:).