Honda and Nissan to Jointly Develop Next-Generation SDV Platform by 2029

[Financial News] Honda and Nissan are preparing to sign an agreement to jointly develop an in-vehicle operating system (OS) and computer platform, with the goal of equipping new models by 2029.
On the 30th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or The Nikkei, and other foreign media reported that the two companies could sign the agreement as early as the 31st. The deal would center on cooperation in the software-defined vehicle (SDV) sector, where development costs are enormous, allowing them to share the financial burden.
Honda said it is discussing possibilities within its existing strategic partnership framework, including Mitsubishi Motors, but nothing has been finalized. Nissan also declined to elaborate, saying it is "reviewing various possibilities."
The partnership is a concrete form of cooperation that emerged after the companies' earlier plan for a major merger fell apart. The two companies had discussed a $60 billion merger, but the deal collapsed in February last year after Nissan opposed becoming a subsidiary of Honda.
Nissan recently posted a turnaround, swinging to a quarterly net profit of 3.76 billion yen in the April-June period after recording a loss of 533.1 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. Even so, the company remains under pressure to cut costs. The two automakers have already worked with outside suppliers such as NVIDIA Corporation and the British startup Wave, and they plan to build their own common platform to serve as the underlying base.
According to MarketsandMarkets, the SDV market is expected to surge from $213.5 billion in 2024 to $1.24 trillion in 2030. As tariff pressures and global competition intensify, more automakers are likely to accelerate cross-company alliances to ease the burden of independent investment.
The two companies are expected to share core technologies such as the OS and onboard computers to significantly reduce engineering costs, while continuing to differentiate themselves in vehicle design, branding, and higher-level software features.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter