Twelve companies in Japan say they have joined hands to develop cutting-edge semiconductor technologies for automotive use, including autonomous driving.

The group is made up of five major automakers, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, Subaru and Mazda Motor, five chip-related firms such as Renesas Electronics, and two electrical component makers.

They say they have formed a new organization named ASRA to achieve their mission.

The group is aiming to develop chiplet technology to combine multiple specialized chips for producing high-performance semiconductors.

The group says it plans to establish the technology by 2028 and install the chips in mass-produced vehicles from 2030 onward.

The Japanese partnership aims to enhance chip performance, which is becoming a key success factor to developing autonomous driving technology.