Nissan will provide Mazda with electric four-wheel-drive (4WD) technology to cut costs and boost patent income, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Thursday according to Reuters.
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The news agency said the licensing agreement, if realised, would be the latest in a series among car makers, which have been under pressure to cut the ballooning costs of developing new technologies.
Citing the newspaper report, Reuters said Mazda planned to incorporate the 4WD technology in its Demio [Mazda2] subcompact as an option.
The electric 4WD system, developed by Hitachi and Tochigi Fuji Industrial, among others, enables makers to cut production costs at it uses fewer parts than conventional 4WD systems, the paper said, according to Reuters.
Nissan has offered the electric system in some of its subcompacts since last autumn, Reuters added, noting also that Nissan and Mazda signed a cross-supply arrangement for commercial vehicles in 1994.
