Mitsubishi Motors to join Honda-Nissan alliance, Nikkei reports

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors is set to join an alliance between Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, creating a tie-up between automakers with combined sales of more than 8 million vehicles, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.

Mitsubishi Motors, which is 34% owned by Nissan, will work with Honda and Nissan to finalise the details of their strategic partnership, Nikkei said, adding the three firms intend to standardise in-vehicle software that controls cars.

Mitsubishi Motors declined to comment on the report, while a Nissan spokesperson would only say the report was not based on something either of the companies had announced. Spokespeople for Honda did not respond to a request for comment.

The push comes as Nissan, Japan's third biggest automaker, has been steadily losing market share in its two largest markets, the United States and China, which together accounted for half of its global sales in the year to March.

In China, the world's largest auto market, Japanese brands previously were strong but are now up against domestic automakers that have rapidly increased production and won over consumers with low-priced vehicles loaded with software.