Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi invests 23 billion euros in electric driving

Earlier this week, various details about the future plans leaked out, but now the senior gentlemen of the alliance have also expressed them themselves. Over the next five years, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi will jointly invest €23 billion in electric vehicles. A considerable investment, which should be reflected in the arrival of a considerable series of new EVs. Until 2030, no fewer than 35 electric models will be presented by the alliance.

To achieve this, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi are targeting five different EV platforms. For example, there is the already well-known CMF-EV platform, on which the Nissan Ariya and Renault Mégane E-tech Electric are already standing. That is the most important basis, because ‘more than 15 models’ must have appeared on this by 2030. A step below is the CMF-B-EV platform, intended for the new Renault 5 and the successor to the Nissan Micra, among other things. Another one below that we find the CMF-A-EV platform, on which the Dacia Spring, for example, is enthroned. Then there’s the Kei-EV platform, which as the name suggests is intended for ultra-compact cars mainly for the Asian market, and the LCV-EV platform for cars like the Renault Kangoo E-tech Electric.

Collaboration

To cut costs, the brands will collaborate even more intensively. Currently, the technical basis is exchanged for about 60 percent of the models, but in 2026 that should already be 80 percent. The brands themselves will remain responsible for market-specific details and the design departments will also be able to go their own way (within the limits of what is technically possible per base, of course).

While a ‘leader-follower principle’ will remain in place with Renault leading the way in Europe, Mitsubishi will bolster its presence in Europe with two new Renault-based models. That was already known a year ago, but now Mitsubishi has announced that – as we expected last year – a new ASX is one of them. We already get a glimpse of that. The new ASX will not be a fully electric car, so it may be a cousin of the Renault Captur with (plug-in) hybrid powertrains. The other car, still under a cloth, doesn’t seem too big either and has somewhat traditional hatchback proportions. Perhaps a counterpart of the Clio.

Mitsubishi ASX teaser

battery technology

In the field of battery technology, interesting times are also ahead for the alliance. Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi announces that it wants to have a worldwide battery production of 220 GWh per year by 2030. Interestingly, Nissan is working on developing solid-state batteries. These should be produced on a large scale by 2028 and be 65 percent cheaper than the current battery cells. The alliance is counting on a price of around €60 per kWh.