Recent reports that Mitsubishi Motors is to join the Honda-Nissan alliance show that Japanese car companies are forming two camps – Toyota and Not-Toyota.
According to the Nikkei, Mitsubishi Motors, which is 34% owned by Nissan, will work with Honda and Nissan to finalise the details of their partnership on electric vehicle development, including standardising in-vehicle software that controls cars.
Even before the competitive pressures from China and Tesla in electric vehicles became apparent, what has happened to the Japanese car industry in the UK over the past decade has been an omen of what was to come. Mitsubishi Motors sold off its Nedcar operation in the Netherlands, its only manufacturing plant in Europe, to VDL in 2012. Nine years later it shut down its UK sales company, the Colt Car Company, a joint venture originally with Mitsubishi Corporation. In the same year, Honda shut down its Swindon plant, leading to several other automotive suppliers who were reliant on Honda withdrawing from the UK too. Honda’s European headquarters continues to be based in the UK, however.
Nissan’s commitment to the UK is clear from a recent announcement that it will lead MADE NE (Manufacturing, Automation, Digitalisation, Electrification North East) with local government partners to create open access training facilities in Sunderland, covering education from primary school to apprenticeships, with a particular focus on EV and battery manufacturing.
MADE NE will also support support targeted industrial innovation projects with funding and equipment.
Toyota has two “Lean Management” centres, at its plants in Burnaston, Derbyshire and Deeside in North Wales, open to any non-competitive organisation who wants to develop people and processes in the Toyota Way.
