Honda to Team up with Toyota and Nissan on Electronics Software Standardization

JASPAR Could Work with Europe's AOSA toward Global Standards

Last month Toyota and Nissan announced a cooperative effort for the development of standardized electronics software, meant to

Honda looks ready to join the non-profit entity dubbed JASPAR (Japan Automotive Software Platform and Architecture) in an effort to help standardized electronics software. (Photo: Honda Canada)

reduce costs on car componentry that is becoming more expensive to develop year after year (see automotive news archive for Sep 13, 2004: Toyota and Nissan Join Forces to Standardize Automotive Electronic Software).

This makes a great deal of sense being that automakers only show their differences when it comes to electronic interfaces, buttons, switches and knobs, not the software behind them.

For this reason number three Honda will most likely decide to cooperate with Japan's number one and two automakers, Toyota and Nissan, in the non-profit entity dubbed JASPAR (Japan Automotive Software Platform and

Japanese companies spend more than 100 billion yen (CAD $1.1 billion) per year developing automotive-related software. (Photo: Toyota Canada)

Architecture). JASPAR was initially set up earlier last month by two Toyota group companies.

Is the joint venture only limited to Toyota, Nissan and Honda, if it joins? Not at all. JASPAR continues to court participation from more car makers and automotive electronics manufacturers in expectation of setting up an international automotive software standard.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that Japanese companies spend more than 100 billion yen (CAD $1.1 billion) per year developing automotive-related software. And it isn't going to get any cheaper, with some analysts estimating costs escalating to 1 trillion yen (CAD $11.4 billion) by 2014, according to the daily newspaper.