As part of Renault and Nissan’s new alliance agreement, the brand will focus on several areas where both brands see growth.
One of these areas is a pair of new utes, but another is an expansion of its existing alliance in the EV sector. The two specific areas earmarked for expansion as part of the new deal include what’s described as common platform A-segment electric vehicles.
The A-Segment is a European definition for city cars, equivalent to Kei-class cars in Japan. Vehicles in Australia which would be considered A-segment include the Kia Picanto, Fiat 500, and Suzuki Ignis.
Currently Nissan and Mitsubishi have low-cost A-segment electric cars in the form of the Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi eK-X, while Renault offers the fully electric Twingo e-Tech in Europe.
The third-generation Twingo has been on sale since 2014, and is due for a new generation, which could be the basis for a new A-segment low-cost electric car. It is unclear whether Renault will lean on the existing electric car underpinnings of the more recent Sakura as the basis for the new vehicle, or create a new vehicle entirely.
This expands on the existing plan for Nissan and Renault to both develop vehicles on the existing CMF-B platform upon which the Renault Captur and Nissan Juke are based.
The alliance won’t stop there though, promising to develop a new C-segment EV platform with the capability to expand to an 800-volt architecture. The C-segment is a mid-size platform, which would cover everything from medium sedans (think Toyota Camry) to mid-size SUVs (think Toyota RAV4).
An 800-volt architecture allows for faster charging times to support longer ranges, is generally suited to larger vehicles, and is currently offered on the Hyundai Group e-GMP platform that underpins the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, or the Volkswagen Group’s J1 platform that underpins the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT.
The announcement states the shared C-segment vehicles would start to populate global line-ups of both brands from 2026.
A Nissan electric car for Europe that will have a high degree of commonality with the incoming reborn Renault 5 hatch is also earmarked for 2026, and will be built at a Renault factory in France.
Meanwhile both brands are committed to other EV-supporting initiatives, like combining Nissan and Renault dealerships in as many markets as possible, and entering the EV infrastructure game by providing fast-chargers at these locations.
Renault Group has also spun-off a new dedicated electric vehicle business called Ampere, which it expects Nissan and Mitsubishi will also invest in. The company will focus on development of electric vehicles and software stacks for the European market.
Meanwhile, Renault’s legacy combustion engine business has also been spun off into a new project it calls the ‘Horse project.’ Horse will focus on the development of low-emissions and hybrid powertrain technologies, and will be a 50/50 joint venture with Chinese giant Geely which owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, and a significant portion of Malaysia’s Proton.
Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo says Nissan and Mitsubishi are not investors in Horse, but will become customers, benefitting from low-emissions combustion technology at “an improved price”.
While Renault models will move to primarily be powered by Ampere-developed electric powertrains, the Dacia brand (owned by Renault Group) would also source its engines from Horse. The next-generation Dacia Duster will be the basis for a new sub-Navara ute family for both Nissan and Renault.
Nissan will announce a follow-up plan based on the new alliance framework in the coming months.
Keyword: BYD, MG and Tesla on notice? Nissan and Renault to team up on both cheap and premium electric cars