Honda and Nissan could start sharing ECUs as early as 2029 or 2030. Perhaps impacting a potential deal between the two will be Renault. The French company still retains a 15 percent voting stake in Nissan. Honda and Nissan are inching closer to a partnership, and neither company is in a position to wait. A collaboration can’t come soon enough, and the first piece of it looks like shared ECUs that function as a car’s central brain. Speaking at Honda’s annual general shareholders meeting in Japan late last week, Honda president Toshihiro Mibe said that work with Nissan is “quite far along, with some aspects close to an announcement.” Mibe revealing that an announcement could be just around the corner was likely made in part to quell fears among shareholders after Honda recently posted its first annual net loss in its history. Read: Honda, Nissan, And Mitsubishi Want To Share Parts, Starting With The Car’s Brain Earlier this week, it was revealed that common ECUs will be used across a range of Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi models, hybrids and EVs included. Nikkei Asia reports that the three still have to settle questions around development funding and other terms before anything is signed, though an agreement is expected within weeks rather than months. According to Mibe, Honda is “proceeding with each project in a win-win relationship.” Shared ECUs could reach the market around 2029 or 2030, and once vehicles from different brands run on the same brain, the rest of the collaboration gets easier. A common control unit is the kind of foundation everything else bolts onto. What About Renault? Potentially standing in the way of closer ties between Honda and Nissan is Renault. The French brand continues to hold a 15 percent voting stake in Nissan. It’s reported that Renault may have recently influenced shareholders to reject Nissan’s proposal to appoint Motoo Nagai as an outside director. As Nissan is a publicly traded company, it will need shareholder consent to enter into important capital alliances, such as with Honda, and this recent example shows that Renault still has a significant say in what happens. Honda needs a close relationship with Nissan now more than ever. The company recently posted a net loss of 423.9 billion yen, or $2.62 billion, for the year ending in March. According to Mibe, if Honda cannot “beat emerging forces within three years… our four-wheel business will be in trouble.”
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