Renault Group, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, the members of one of the world’s leading automotive alliances, announced common projects and actions to accelerate and to shape their shared future towards 2030, focusing on the mobility value chain, according to an announcement on Jan. 27.

A year and a half after announcing its new cooperative business model to support member-company competitiveness and profitability, the Alliance is now based on solid foundations and benefits from an efficient operational governance organization and from intensified and flexible cooperation.

Continuing the Leader-Follower scheme defined in May 2020, select technology is developed by one leading team with the support of the followers, thereby allowing each member of the Alliance to access all the key technologies.

The Alliance has defined a common 2030 roadmap on pure-EV and Intelligent & Connected mobility, sharing investments for the benefits of its three member companies and their customers.

“Among the world's automotive leaders, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is a proven, unique model. For 22 years, we have been building on our respective cultures and strengths for our common benefit,” said Jean-Dominique Senard, Chairman of the Alliance. “Today the Alliance is accelerating to lead the mobility revolution and deliver more value to customers, our people, our shareholders, and all our stakeholders. The three member-companies have defined a common roadmap towards 2030, sharing investments in future electrification and connectivity projects. 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.”

The Leader-Follower Scheme

The Alliance members have developed a “smart differentiation” methodology that defines the desired level of commonality for each vehicle, integrating several parameters of possible pooling, such as platforms, production plants, powertrains, or vehicle segment. This is supplemented and enhanced by a stricter approach to design and upper-body differentiation. For example, the common platform for the C and D segment will carry five models from three brands of the Alliance (Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail; Mitsubishi Outlander; Renault Austral and an upcoming seven-seater SUV).

Strengthening this process, the Alliance members will enhance usage of common platforms in the coming years from 60% today to more than 80% of its combined 90 models in 2026. This will allow each company to deepen their focus on their customers’ needs, their best models, and core markets, while also extending innovations across the Alliance at a lower cost.

As part of this, Mitsubishi Motors will reinforce its presence in Europe with two new models, among them the New ASX based on Renault best-sellers.

Five Common EV Platforms

Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have pioneered the EV market, with more than €10 billion already invested in the field of electrification. In the main markets (Europe, Japan, the U.S., and China), 15 Alliance plants already produce parts, motors, batteries for 10 EV models on the streets, with more than 1 million EV cars sold so far and 30 billion e-kilometers driven.

Building on this unique expertise, the Alliance is accelerating with a total €23 billion more investment in the next five years on electrification, leading to 35 new EV models by 2030. 

Ninety percent of these models will be based on five common EV platforms, covering most markets, in all major regions:

• CMF-AEV, the most affordable platform in the world, is the base for the new Dacia Spring.

• KEI-EV (mini vehicle) platform family for ultra-compact EVs.

• LCV-EV Family platform family for professional customers, as the base for the Renault Kangoo and Nissan Town Star.

• CMF-EV, the global, flexible, EV platform. It will be on the roads in a few weeks as the base for the Nissan Ariya EV crossover and Renault Megane E-Tech Electric. The CMF-EV platform, with its technological innovations and the potential offered by its modularity, is a benchmark platform for a new generation of electric vehicles for the Alliance partners. The platform has been created to integrate and optimize all the elements specific to a 100% electric powertrain, hosting a new, high-performance motor and an ultra-thin battery. By 2030, more than 15 models will be based on the CMF-EV platform, with up to 1.5 million cars produced on this platform per year.

• CMF-BEV, the most competitive compact electric platform in the world, to be launched in 2024. It provides up to 400 km range; its aerodynamics performances are outstanding, helping reduce cost by 33% and power consumption by more than 10% compared to the current Renault ZOE. It will be the base for 250,000 vehicles a year under the Renault, Alpine and Nissan brands. Among the vehicles are the Renault R5 and the new compact EV that will replace the Nissan Micra. Designed by Nissan and engineered by Renault, the new model is planned to be manufactured at Renault ElectriCity: the electric industrial center in Northern France.

Common Battery Strategy

Competitiveness is key, and that has led member companies to a common Alliance battery strategy, leading, among others, to the selection of a common battery supplier for Renault and Nissan in core markets.

The Alliance is working with common partners to achieve real scale and affordability, enabling battery cost reduction by 50% in 2026 and 65% by 2028.

With this approach, the Alliance will have a total of 220 GWh battery production capacity for EVs across key production sites in the world by 2030.

Beyond that, the Alliance shares a common vision for all-solid-state battery technology (ASSB). Based on its deep expertise and unique experience as a pioneer in battery technology, Nissan will lead innovations in this area that will benefit all Alliance members.

ASSB will have double the energy density versus current liquid lithium-ion batteries. Charging time will also be greatly reduced to one-third, enabling customers to make longer trips with increased, convenience, confidence and enjoyment.

The aim is to mass produce ASSB by mid-2028, and in the future beyond that to realize cost parity with ICE vehicles by bringing costs down further to $65 per kWh, accelerating the global shift to EVs.

The Alliance battery management system is also at state-of-the art. Unlike others in the industry, the Alliance has chosen to control 100% of its hardware and software, benefiting from valuable predictive data and allowing for monitoring the state of health of the battery and improving technology.

25 Million Cars Connected to the Alliance Cloud by 2026

Intelligent and connected mobility are critical areas for increased shared innovation across the Alliance.

With 20 years’ experience in ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) and autonomous drive, the Alliance keeps improving real-world driving safety, convenience, and enjoyment by delivering innovations in intelligent vehicle and driver assistance technologies, with an example being Nissan’s award-winning ProPILOT system.

With shared platforms and electronics, by 2026 Alliance members expect to have more than 10 million vehicles on the road across 45 Alliance models equipped with autonomous driving systems.

Today, 3 million vehicles are already connected to the Alliance Cloud with permanent data exchanges. By 2026, more than 5 million Alliance cloud systems will be delivered per year, with 25 million total cars on the road. The Alliance will also be the first global, mass-market OEM to introduce the Google ecosystem in its cars.

Under Renault’s leadership, the Alliance is developing a common centralized electrical and electronic architecture converging electronics hardware and software applications to offer maximum benefits and an optimal level of performance.

The Alliance will launch its first full software defined vehicle by 2025. With this vehicle, the Alliance will improve its cars Over The Air performance throughout their life cycle. This means value for customers with the integration of their car into their digital ecosystem to offering a personalized experience, new enhanced services, and reduced maintenance costs. This will also allow Alliance members to boost vehicle resale values. In addition, Software defined vehicles will be able to communicate with connected objects, users, and infrastructure, opening new fields of value for the Alliance companies.

Alliance best-in-class digital experience will be the gateway to an unprecedented amount of data, paving the way to the automotive industry’s next frontier. with Renault Group, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors positioned at the forefront of this revolution.