Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance to invest Eur23 bil over five years to support electrification

An alliance between automakers Renault Group, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors will invest Eur23 billion ($25.7 billion) over five years to support its electrification strategy, they said Jan. 27.

The alliance also announced a roadmap to 2030, under which the three companies will share investments to manufacture pure-EVs and intelligent and connected mobility, with the aim of reaching 80% use of common platforms in 2026, up from 60% in 2022.

The new investment will allow the alliance to offer 35 new EVs in 2030, based on the five common EV platforms, it said.

It added that the three members aimed to increase their use of common platforms from 60% in 2022 to more than 80% of their combined 90 models in 2026, which would allow the extension of innovations across the alliance at a lower cost.

As part of this, Mitsubishi will be offering two new models in Europe based on Renault best-sellers, while Nissan has unveiled a new EV based on the global, flexible CMF-BEV Alliance platform to replace its Micra vehicle in Europe, which will be manufactured at Renault ElectriCity in northern France.

Under the alliance, Renault will lead the development of common centralized electrical and electronic architecture, with the first full software defined vehicle to be launched by 2025.

According to S&P Global Platts Analytics, global plug-in light duty EV sales are expected to reach 21.7 million units in 2030, up from 3.1 million units in 2020.

Global battery production of 220 GWh by 2030

The three companies also aim to secure a global battery production capacity of 220 GWh by 2030.

It is working with common partners to achieve scale and affordability, with the goal of reducing battery costs by 50% in 2026 and 65% by 2028, the alliance said.

Another objective of the alliance is to mass produce all-solid-state battery, or ASSB, technology by mid-2028 and bring costs down to $65/kWh to help EVs reach cost parity with internal combustion vehicles and accelerate the shift to EVs, it said.

Nissan will lead the development of ASSB technology for the alliance.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance was first established in May 2020 to support member-company competitiveness and profitability.

The alliance has already invested over Eur10 billion in electrification and has 15 plants in its main markets in Europe, Japan, the US and China that produce parts, motors and batteries for 10 EV available models.

The alliance has sold more than 1 million EV cars and said its EVs had been driven 30 billion e-kilometers.

"The three member-companies have defined a common roadmap towards 2030, sharing investments in future electrification and connectivity projects," alliance chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said. "These are massive investments that none of the three companies could make alone. Together, we are making the difference for a new and global sustainable future; the Alliance becoming carbon neutral by 2050."