Two of Japan's top carmakers, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, have agreed to work together on electric vehicles and what they call "intelligent mobility."

Honda is the country's Number 2 automaker and Nissan is Number 3. They have signed a memorandum of understanding for a feasibility study toward a strategic partnership.

The two companies made the announcement on Friday.
Honda has a strong presence in the North American market, while Nissan has production bases in Europe.
They may be able to supplement each other in their global strategies.

Honda Motor president and CEO Mibe Toshihiro said the two companies "will consider a partnership from the viewpoint of whether we can become the top runner in the industry and create new value for cars through the synergy effects of technologies and knowhow we have developed."

Nissan Motor president and CEO Uchida Makoto said the companies "won't be able to survive in this competition if we are bound by the usual thinking and methods that the industry has been following to this point."

The two companies currently trail their American and Chinese rivals in developing EVs.

But they hope to collaborate to jointly procure parts and develop core components related to EVs.

They aim to explore software platforms to power the next generation of vehicles.

Toyota currently leads Japan's auto industry in terms of sales. A tie-up between the second and third-largest players could lead to an industry shakeup.