For the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, 100% electric vehicles are more than ever a priority in Europe. It is therefore no longer a question of dispersing: the three manufacturers will strengthen the sharing of components and technologies while trying to retain their identity.
A replacement for the 100% electric Micra and manufactured in Douai on the basis of the future Renault 5? Even if the secret had been exposed by our colleagues from echoesthis is THE big announcement of the conference organized by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance on January 27, 2022.
But the Japanese city car is a bit like the bonsai that hides the forest. For more than an hour, the three partners rolled out a fairly dense roadmap with the announcement of a range which by 2030 would include no less than 35 100% electric vehicles (BEV), utility vehicles included, including subsidiaries like Dacia or Alpine. However, the strategies will be different from one brand to another. If Renault now plans to no longer offer thermal in Europe from 2030, provided that the charging infrastructure follows, Nissan prefers for its part to evoke a 100% electrified range the same year. There will therefore still be room for the hybrid at the Japanese manufacturer. In the world, the Japanese, installed on very diversified markets, even expects only 50% electrification by this horizon.
Solid batteries in series in 2028
This does not prevent Nissan from having the leadership on the development of solid-state batteries, with mass production now planned for 2028. Often described as the future of the electric car, this type of accumulator promises doubled energy density. It therefore makes it possible to offer a higher capacity, therefore more autonomy, while reducing the weight and volume occupied. Charging times would also be halved and the cost halved. Progress that seems a priori impossible with current liquid electrolyte technology. But there is no question of dropping the latter, which will remain largely in the majority throughout the decade. It is therefore above all on it that the Alliance is betting to achieve battery production equivalent to 220 GWh per year in 2030, with prices halved in 2026 and 65% by 2028.
TO READ. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance accelerates on electric
Fewer models, more shares
To reduce production costs while investing 23 billion euros in electrification over the next five years, the three manufacturers have no choice. They will have to make some sacrifices. They will thus go from a hundred models today in the world to ” only “ 90. But they will above all work to better apply the adage “unity is strength” by avoiding dispersing themselves, as Renault and Nissan have done for too long. While they’re only using common platforms for 60% of their lineups right now, they’ll increase to 80% by 2026. And 90% of that offering will even be based on just five platforms of electric vehicles. The star goes to the new CMF EV, inaugurated by the Nissan Ariya and Renault Mégane E-Tech electric. It should ultimately be used to manufacture 1.5 million vehicles per year, against “only” 250,000 for the CMF-BEV. Planned for 2024, this more affordable base will nevertheless be used for very mainstream models such as the future R5 Electric, R4 and Microphoneat 6.
A brand identity to keep
Even if the three brands have not merged, their strategy therefore increasingly evokes large groups such as Volkswagen or the rival Stellantis. Especially since the chassis and engines will not be the only ones to be shared: increasingly crucial, the electronic and software architecture will also be largely shared. The Alliance thus plans to put 25 million connected cars into circulation by 2026 based on an ecosystem signed Google, like the one present on board the Megane E-Tech Electric. More than 10 million vehicles equipped with an autonomous driving system are also planned for this deadline, as well as ever greater possibilities for remote updates.
The whole challenge will then be to keep the identity of each manufacturer, which should now mainly involve style. A first teaser of the future small SUV Mitsubishi ASX has thus been unveiled, and it seems very well to hide the fact of having the same base and the same production line as the Renault Captur. Same story if we compare the next Micra and R5. On the other hand, the relationship is already more obvious between the Renault Kangoo and Nissan Townstar utilities, and it is even more pronounced for certain “kei cars”, these mini-city cars only sold in Japan.
