Nissan, Mitsubishi establish NMKV minicar joint venture for possible city car EV

In mid-May, Nissan and Mitsubishi announced the official establishment of a 50:50 joint venture related to the automakers' minicars that are sold exclusively in Japan. The establishment of the minicar JV builds upon an agreement signed in December of 2010 that expanded the scope of cooperation between the two automakers.

But what's a JV without a name? How does NMKW Company, LTD sound? Though dull, that's the official name of the Nissan-Mitsubishi JV. Here's some additional info released by Nissan:

• The joint venture commenced operations on June 1, 2011, with 35 employees.
• NMKV is based in Takanawa, a neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan.
• NMKV's current operating budget is 10 million yen ($124,640 U.S. at the current exchange rate).

NMKV aims to to unite the strengths of Nissan and Mitsubishi in the areas of vehicle engineering, development and parts sourcing. Currently, Mitsubishi and Nissan collaborate on some vehicles, including the Mitsubishi Lancer Cargo, Minicab, Town Box, eKWagon and Pajero Mini models. However, there are reports suggesting that NMKW could collaborate on a battery-powered electric city car.

[Source: Nissan]