Japan and ASEAN plan joint strategy on auto production, Nikkei reports

Workers install a battery for a new electric vehicle model at Mitsubishi Motor Corp's factory in Kurashiki, Japan May 19, 2022. REUTERS

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to create their first joint strategy on automobile production and sales within the Southeast Asian bloc to counter China's increasing presence in the electric vehicle market, Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.

The aim is to draw up an interim joint strategy through around 2035 when the economic ministers of Japan and ASEAN members meet as early as next September, Nikkei reported, without citing any source.

The joint strategy is expected to entail cooperation in personnel training, decarbonization in production, mineral resource procurement, and investment in next-generation fields such as biofuels, Nikkei said.

Japan intends to tap the 140 billion yen ($899.51 million) that its Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry secured in the budget for assistance to the Global South, for personnel training, the report said.

Last week, Japan's Honda Motor pledged to double its electrification and software investment to about $65 billion through fiscal 2030, as it faces growing competition from a raft of Chinese automakers, including BYD.