A new Renault Nissan Mitsubishi plan for electric vehicles?

According to Reuters, the Alliance of the three manufacturers Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi will announce this week an investment plan in electric vehicles.

At Renault, the « Renaulution » electric strategy was launched in 2021 following the arrival of new CEO Luca de Meo. Under his leadership, the Alliance, a group formed with Nissan and Mitsubishi, is also expected to reveal more details soon.

The Alliance is Tripling Its Focus on Electric Vehicles

The news agency Reuters reports information confirmed by two sources close to the matter. The Alliance will triple its investments to 30 billion euros to jointly develop electric vehicles, compared to 10 billion previously.

The plan, titled « Alliance to 2030 », will span five years. It promises five different platforms, resulting in 30 upcoming electric models. We already know the first four: CMF-EV (Renault Mégane E-Tech), Nissan-Dongfeng in China (Dacia Spring), small city cars kei cars (Japan), and vans. The fifth platform, CMF-BEV, will be used for the upcoming Renault 5, and according to the same sources, also for an electric Nissan Micra.

The three groups are expected to officially announce the plan and its details on January 27. An investment in battery factories with a capacity of 220 GWh and solid-state batteries is also planned.

Previous Plans with Limited Ambition

In June 2021, Renault announced 10 new electric cars and a goal of one million units annually by 2030. Nissan targeted 15 billion euros by 2026, in its plan released last November. It aimed to develop 23 new models—15 electric and 7 e-Power—with a goal of 50% electrification by 2030.

As for Mitsubishi, its latest intentions date back to November 2020. The Japanese brand planned for 50% electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2030, but did not specify the level of investments.

The Battle for Electric Investment

The new plan from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance echoes other major automakers. Of course, there is Stellantis, a group born from the merger of PSA and Fiat-Chrysler, which promises 30 billion euros to reach 70% electrification by 2030.

But Volkswagen has been the most active in this area for years. The German group is investing 73 billion euros between 2020 and 2025 in electric vehicles as well as embedded electronics. The American General Motors is responding with 35 billion dollars, also including autonomous vehicles. Regarding models, the global number one Toyota, which is behind on electric vehicles, has also announced 30 new vehicles by 2030.

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