Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi are apparently planning to triple their investment to jointly develop electric vehicles (EV). The alliance of manufacturers is expected to announce a plan on Thursday to invest more than 20 billion euros in electric vehicle development over the next five years.
By 2030, the alliance plans to develop a total of more than 30 new battery-electric vehicles (BEV), built on five common platforms, according to a report by Reuters, which cites two sources familiar with the matter. According to the sources, the 20 billion euros will be invested in addition to the ten billion euros previously agreed, and so triple the amount originally planned.
As established automakers face pressure from new competitors and an expected shift in demand toward EVs, so the French-Japanese alliance is seeking to strengthen cooperation.
According to Reuters, a Nissan spokesperson declined to “comment on speculation”, while spokespeople for Renault and Mitsubishi did not respond to requests for comment.
So far, the three-firm alliance has developed and partly deployed four common EV platforms.
One underpins EVs such as Nissan’s upcoming Ariya and Renault’s Megane EV, and another supports affordable no-frills cars by Nissan and its China market partner Dongfeng, as well as for Renault’s Dacia brand. The other two are platforms for micro minis, called “kei cars” in Japan, and light commercial vehicles.
By mid-decade, the alliance aims to deploy a fifth common platform for compact EVs designed by Renault, according to the sources.
Part of the money is to be invested in joint battery production. By 2030, the alliance wants to build up to 220 GWh of battery production capacity in France, the UK, China and Japan. This may already include the well-known projects in Douai and Sunderland. Through standardisation and the sharing of plants, the manufacturing costs for the batteries are apparently to be halved – this should also contribute to cost parity.
The alliance is also expected to share solid-state lithium-ion battery technology, which Nissan has been developing, the sources said.
Last year, Renault and Nissan presented their EV strategies independently. Renault, for example, wants to invest heavily in the value chain for electric cars and – at least with the Renault brand – go all-electric in Europe by 2030. There are still exceptions for Dacia and markets outside Europe, but with 30 BEV models by 2030, the range should cover all important segments.
Nissan announced in November that it intended to bring 15 battery-electric cars to market by 2030.
Keyword: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to unveil major EV investment