October 16, 2015 – Nissan Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and their joint venture NMKV Co. say they have reached an agreement to continue their project regarding the development of the “next generation” of current minicar models.

The companies say they aim to develop more competitive products by optimizing resource allocation and will soon sign a memorandum of understanding.

Nissan and Mitsubishi established NMKV in June 2011 to specialize in minicars. These minicars, the Nissan Dayz and the Mitsubishi eK Wagon, were launched in June 2013, followed by the launch of the Nissan Dayz Roox and the Mitsubishi eK Space in February 2014. By the end of September 2015, total sales of vehicles produced under the joint project reached 500,000 units, according to Mitsubishi.

With this new agreement, Nissan will be more involved in development operations, such as design and testing, Mitsubishi says. In addition to its product planning and project development roles, NMKV will strengthen its management capabilities by adding a new department to enhance collaboration with engineering and manufacturing functions. Vehicle production is planned to continue at Mitsubishi’s Mizushima Plant.
 
“This new agreement shows that our efforts are making steady progress and thus the collaboration will further deepen. We are taking the lead in this project by combining Mitsubishi’s know-how in minicar development and manufacturing with Nissan’s technologies”, says NMKV president and CEO Junichi Endo.

In addition, a minicar EV is in progress through the collaboration, Mitsubishi notes. Vehicle details and launch-timing announcements will be made at a later time.