- Nissan and Honda each have separate relationships with Dongfeng Motor, a Chinese language firm liable for producing some Honda and Nissan merchandise in China.
- The Nissan N7 is the manufacturing model of the primary of the 4 EV and PHEV ideas it unveiled in collaboration with Dongfeng Motor on the 2024 Beijing Auto Present.
- The Honda Ye sequence automobiles are additionally made by Dongfeng. (Dongfeng Honda)
That is the Nissan N7. We’ve seen it earlier than a number of instances now; first in idea kind on the Beijing Present of 2024, then later that 12 months in production-intent kind by November. Just a few days in the past, the Chinese language Ministry of Business and Info Know-how (MIIT) uncovered the ultimate manufacturing mannequin within the final step wanted for homologation on Chinese language roads.
The MIIT did expose some energy and dimensional particulars, it is going to be a single motor-only sedan producing both 214 horsepower or 268 horsepower. I imply, it’s high quality sufficient, it doesn’t look like an enormous step in any path, and it doubtless shall be a high quality sedan to serve China’s model of Uber known as Didi.
There’s nothing essentially unsuitable with the N7, but it surely’s clearly not a really thrilling sedan. Furthermore, I can’t assist however assume that this automobile gained’t be lengthy for this world due to the Nissan-Honda merger. See, the N7 is developed partially by Dongfeng Motor, certainly one of Nissan’s authentic companions from China’s 50/50 three way partnership scheme to get automakers to put money into China and assist its automobile trade mature.
Dongfeng not solely builds Nissan fashions beneath contract, however it is usually considerably concerned within the improvement of the automobiles themselves, particularly within the EV period.
Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem. However certainly one of Honda’s two three way partnership companions is additionally Dongfeng Motor. Like Nissan, Dongfeng is a part of Honda’s EV improvement and manufacturing. Most lately, it’s began producing the China-only Honda Ye sequence of automobiles.
It looks as if there are a variety of fashions and improvement chains to untangle right here. Not solely are each manufacturers intertwined with Dongfeng, but it surely’s not clear what merchandise would be the winner on the finish of the day. Honda has been adamant that it needs to share prices and doubtlessly streamline improvement prices between each lineups, but it surely seems like they’ve a complete different model in China the place they’ve spent a lot of cash creating, manufacturing and advertising and marketing competing lineups of automobiles that doubtless don’t have anything to do with one another. The place does Dongfeng fall beneath all these items?
Whereas at a Honda roundtable at this 12 months’s CES, I requested what would come of the relationships each Honda and Nissan have with Dongfeng.
“Dongfeng Nissan and Dongfeng Honda are two totally different corporations. After all, we all know the scenario…however truly, the discussions are between [only] Honda and Nissan. Ultimately, we must discuss it, however so there’s no conclusion over that,” mentioned Katsushi Inoue, Honda’s International Head of Electrification Enterprise Growth.
He mentioned that quickly, Honda might make a shared announcement about the way forward for the tie-ups, however as of that second they’d nothing so as to add.
From so many views, this mesh-up between Nissan and Honda feels so messy. As acknowledged earlier, Honda mentioned it needs to simplify improvement and doubtlessly share EV prices with Nissan, however how will that work, precisely? Honda already has three joint ventures or shared corporations (Dongfeng, Sony and Basic Motors) that each one have EVs which might be unrelated to one another.
Dongfeng itself has a funds line of automobiles known as Venucia – lots of Venucia automobiles use elements from the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi elements bin. How on earth will Nissan fall in line? On the finish of the day, which merchandise will stay, and which gained’t?
EV patrons throughout the globe will simply have to take a seat again and watch what fashions make it, and which fall by the wayside.
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