TOKYO, July 29 Reuters Shares in Mitsubishi Motors surged on Monday following media reports that the Japanese automaker is in talks to join Nissan39;s and Honda39;s planned strategic partnership.

Nissan and Honda said in March they were looking at collaborating on electric vehicle components and artificial intelligence in automotive software platforms, though they are not planning a capital tieup.

Representatives for the three automakers declined to comment. Shares in Mitsubishi Motors climbed 6.3 in early afternoon trade. Nissan39;s stock rose 2.8 and Honda39;s gained 2.6.

The planned partnership underscores the increasing pressure on automakers to work together to cut down on the massive costs involved in developing new technology as well as the two camps that the Japanese auto industry is dividing itself into.

In the other camp, Toyota Motor works with its partners Suzuki, Subaru and Mazda.

Mitsubishi Motors is 34 owned by Nissan and part of a longstanding alliance with Nissan and Renault.

Its participation in the planned partnership with Honda would be a natural progression given Nissan39;s stake in the company, analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients.

We believe the most important area in this reported tieup is software, they wrote, adding that all three companies could benefit from pursuing economies of scale.

Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors last year agreed to restructure their alliance, aiming for a downsized but more pragmatic and…