Nissan and Mitsubishi have announced an agreement to co-develop a new generation of mini-cars through their joint-venture with NMKV, which stands for Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. NMKV will soon sign a memorandum of understanding.
According to the agreement, Nissan will be more deeply involved in development operations, such as design development and testing. 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.
Nissan and Mitsubishi established NMKV in June 2011 to specialize in planning and development of minicars. Their jointly-developed 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, the joint venture had reached total sales of 500,000 units. With the latest agreement, Nissan and Mitsubishi aim to take the partnership to a higher level. The automakers are already planning and developing a minicar EV and they will announce vehicle details and launch timing of the EV and other next generation minicars at a later date.
