Honda, Nissan to Merge by 2026 in Biggest Reshape in Global Auto Industry

Honda and Nissan have announced plans to merge by 2026, aiming to create the world's third-largest automaker by sales volume, trailing only Toyota and Volkswagen. This merger is driven by the need to compete with rising Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers and to address the challenges of electrification and autonomous driving.

The combined entity is expected to achieve sales of 30 trillion yen ($191 billion) and operating profits exceeding 3 trillion yen. The merger will also involve integrating their manufacturing plants and energy service facilities to improve efficiency and reduce costs

Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan holds a majority stake, is also considering joining the merger, which could further boost the combined group's global sales.

This merger represents a major shift in the global auto industry and highlights the importance of collaboration to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving market.

Toshihiro Mibe, Honda CEO, "We have to build up capabilities to fight with them by 2030, otherwise we’ll be beaten."

Makoto Uchida, Nissan CEO, "Together, we can create a unique way for them to enjoy cars that neither company could achieve alone.

Sam Abuelsamid, Auto Industry Analyst, "Some brands that have been around for a long time may well not be part of the landscape five or ten years from now just because they don’t have enough scale to compete against either the big Western players or the Chinese companies."

The merger is seen as a strategic move to address the challenges posed by Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers and to pool resources for better competitiveness in the evolving market.

INR 4 Mn Grant Opportunity for Automotive Startups As T-Hub Ties with Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India

With an aim to bolster the growing automotive ecosystem and support startups, T-Hub and Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI) partnered for the Open Innovation Challenge.

Along with the grant, the four winning startups will get an opportunity to pitch in front of Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI) leadership and access their global mentorship network.

T-Hub, which pioneers India’s leading innovation ecosystem, today announced its partnership with Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI), a global technical and development centre for the Open Innovation Challenge. Through this partnership, RNTBCI will partner with some of the most innovative automotive startups scouted by T-Hub. With an aim to bolster the growing automotive ecosystem, the winning startups will get an opportunity to pitch in front of RNTBCI leadership and access their global mentorship network.

The program offers the startups an opportunity to participate under four themes - First and Last Mile Connectivity, Digitisation, Mobility as a Service with social impact (MaaS) and Circular economy. Six to eight startups will be shortlisted for each theme out of which four startups will win INR 1 million grant each and receive co-working opportunities with RNTBCI.

MSR, CEO, T-Hub said, "T-Hub with our corporate partnerships aims to help startups incorporate domain expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions to the market. We are excited to partner with RNTBCI (Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India) as they bring incredible expertise in their sector and a clear focus that will help startups create breakthrough solutions for the global automotive market. Together we look forward to creating an impact for our startup community."

The program will focus on automotive space including AI, IoT, blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA), electrification, big data, AR/VR, application development, cloud-based, materials, alternative fuel etc. Growth stage startups with Minimum Viable Product (MVP) ready, in Electric vehicle (EV), Automated vehicle (AV) and Assistive technology (AT) technology, bio-based materials, internet of waste, re-use, upcycle anywhere from India, can apply for the program here.

Debashis Neogi, Managing Director, RNTBCI said, "We are glad to announce the maiden Renault Nissan Open Innovation Challenge in India in association with T-Hub. Innovation should be the topmost priority of India, as a country with lots of young talents and booming start-ups. We want to trigger the thinking! I see a great potential to create out-of-the-box and business viable solutions through this challenge."

The shortlisted startups will be able to derive diverse benefits from the program such as mentoring and learning from leaders in the automotive giants, and co-working space at T-Hub with exclusive access to state-of-art design and product development resources. They will also receive an opportunity to co-create a paid Proof of Concept (PoC) and find a new use case for their existing solutions. T-Hub will be facilitating the program through hybrid mode and provide support to the participating startups by refining pitch decks and displaying demonstrations.

Furthermore, T-Hub will bring world-class industry experts, mentors, and business scaling opportunities for shortlisted startups. The program will conclude with T-Hub and RNTBCI disbursing grants to the final four startups for the development of their Proof of Concepts (PoCs).

T-Hub (Technology Hub) is an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler. Based out of Hyderabad, India, T-Hub leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem. With a mission of enabling and empowering an ecosystem hungry for innovation, T-Hub is creating an impact for startups, corporations, and other innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Incorporated in 2015, it has provided over 1800+ national and international startups with access to better technology, talent, mentors, customers, corporates, investors, and government agencies. It has elevated innovation for leading national and global corporations, transforming their business models for the better. Working in collaboration with innovation partners and enablers in Telangana, India and worldwide, T-Hub is building a future-ready innovation ecosystem.

Media contacts: pr@T-Hub.co

Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI) is a captive automotive technology and business centre supporting Renault and Nissan globally. Established in 2007, it is in Mahindra World City, Chennai, India and employs over 8,000 employees.

Nissan to Hire 550 Tech Pros for its Digital R&D Hub in Kerala for Electric and Driver-less Cars

Japan's automobile major Nissan Motors will open its global digital Research & Development hub for autonomous/driver-less cars at Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala and for same the company would hire about 550 technology professionals by March 2019.

IndianWeb2.com first reported about Nissan's R&D hub in June this year. The Hub, which is focused on innovation in automated and electronic vehicles will be shared by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, a strategic partnership between French and Japanese manufacturers.

According to Tony Thomas, Corporate VP & CIO of Nissan Motor Corp, "Hiring is on for the cream of innovation talent, as this is not a global offshore centre, but a global team."

The carmaker has already signed up 350-plus professionals in domains such as software development, UI/UX, big data, analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT). The 25,000-sq ft facility at Technopark Phase III can accommodate 200 more engineers and innovative brains, Thomas said.

Notably, since July this year, these 350-odd new recruits hired by Nissan for its first Global Digital Centre in India were working at the Infosys campus in Thiruvananthapuram, as Infosys had offered its office space Nissan Digital Hub project till the new facility was set up.

In last couple of years, Kerala has had inked several partnership and MoUs with Tech firms in India as well as abroad. Last MOnth, aircraft maker Airbus Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kerala state government for setting up BizLab Innovation Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

In March this year, the state government had tied up with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for a space tech park and incubator for startups in space technology. Called as 'ISRO-Space Technology Incubation Center (S-TIC)', the space park will be up and running in June next year.

Source - Financial Express

[Top Image - Guardian.ng]

Nissan's First Digital Innovation Hub To Set up in Kerala, India for R&D in Electric and Autonomous Vehicles

Japan's automobile major Nissan Motors will set up Its first digital innovation hub in India in Technocity, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, which will be a research and development (R&D) facility of sorts that will also be shared by the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance.

The main idea to develop the digital hub is to focus on the R&D towards electric and autonomous vehicles. To begin with, the Kerala government Kerala government has allotted space of 30 acres to Nissan in order to setup the hub during the first phase. In the second phase, the government will give Nissan additional 40 acres. Nissan's digital and innovation hub will be called Nissan knowledge city.

Nissan’s digital hub in Kerala will be its first in India, and will function as the nerve centre of the company’s research in electric and automated vehicles. The government of Kerala will sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Nissan on 29 June, 2018.

The reason that Nissan chose Kerala to set up its first digital innovation hub are; existing talent pool in IT and engineering, airport connectivity, cost effectiveness, quality of life, social amenities and the lack of traffic problems, among other things.

The upcoming digital and innovation hub will act as a talent pool of people who will be working on new-age technologies that can be utilized in automobiles such as cognitive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning and so on. Once the hub is up and running, Nissan will be creating approximately 3,000 direct jobs along with few thousand indirect jobs as well.

Nissan along with its auto making partners Renault and Mitsubishi, is aiming at launching 17 electric models to achieve an annual vehicle sales of 14 million units by 2022.

Nissan's digital hub in Kerala will be company's fifth digital hub globally after having centres in Japan, China, France and USA. To start off with, the company will occupy the Technopark Phase III campus and a part of the co-developer space as well. The Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance is betting big on electric vehicles and aims to not only launch 17 new electric models by 2022 but also rake in annual electric vehicles sales to the tune of 14 million units as well.

Also Read - Kerala To Have India's First Online Clearance System for Startups

Notably, Indian automobile major Bharat Forge has also been working on its R&D and technology strategy in the Electric Vehicle space over the last few years. The company has recently made a strategic investment of $13.5 million (£10 million) or about Rs.90 crores in Tevva Motors, a British and Israeli electric truck company.

Speaking about Kerala, the state has been a front-runner when it comes to adopting new-age technologies. In April, Kerala Blockchain Academy (KBA) of state-run Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management (IIITM-Kerala) has become the first Indian Institution to get membership of Hyperledger Project hosted by Linux Foundation.

In March, Kerala tied up with Indian space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to incubate and promote startups in the satellite and space technology sector.

Via - auto.ndtv.com

[Top Image - reports.nissan-global.com]

Nissan's First Digital Innovation Hub To Set up in Kerala, India for R&D in Electric and Autonomous Vehicles

Japan's automobile major Nissan Motors will set up Its first digital innovation hub in India in Technocity, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, which will be a research and development (R&D) facility of sorts that will also be shared by the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance.

The main idea to develop the digital hub is to focus on the R&D towards electric and autonomous vehicles. To begin with, the Kerala government Kerala government has allotted space of 30 acres to Nissan in order to setup the hub during the first phase. In the second phase, the government will give Nissan additional 40 acres. Nissan's digital and innovation hub will be called Nissan knowledge city.

Nissan’s digital hub in Kerala will be its first in India, and will function as the nerve centre of the company’s research in electric and automated vehicles. The government of Kerala will sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Nissan on 29 June, 2018.

The reason that Nissan chose Kerala to set up its first digital innovation hub are; existing talent pool in IT and engineering, airport connectivity, cost effectiveness, quality of life, social amenities and the lack of traffic problems, among other things.

The upcoming digital and innovation hub will act as a talent pool of people who will be working on new-age technologies that can be utilized in automobiles such as cognitive analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning and so on. Once the hub is up and running, Nissan will be creating approximately 3,000 direct jobs along with few thousand indirect jobs as well.

Nissan along with its auto making partners Renault and Mitsubishi, is aiming at launching 17 electric models to achieve an annual vehicle sales of 14 million units by 2022.

Nissan's digital hub in Kerala will be company's fifth digital hub globally after having centres in Japan, China, France and USA. To start off with, the company will occupy the Technopark Phase III campus and a part of the co-developer space as well. The Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance is betting big on electric vehicles and aims to not only launch 17 new electric models by 2022 but also rake in annual electric vehicles sales to the tune of 14 million units as well.

Also Read - Kerala To Have India's First Online Clearance System for Startups

Notably, Indian automobile major Bharat Forge has also been working on its R&D and technology strategy in the Electric Vehicle space over the last few years. The company has recently made a strategic investment of $13.5 million (£10 million) or about Rs.90 crores in Tevva Motors, a British and Israeli electric truck company.

Speaking about Kerala, the state has been a front-runner when it comes to adopting new-age technologies. In April, Kerala Blockchain Academy (KBA) of state-run Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management (IIITM-Kerala) has become the first Indian Institution to get membership of Hyperledger Project hosted by Linux Foundation.

In March, Kerala tied up with Indian space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to incubate and promote startups in the satellite and space technology sector.

Via - auto.ndtv.com

[Top Image - reports.nissan-global.com]