Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Renault announce the future of their alliance

Not long after the announcement that Nissan and Renault have overhauled their ownership stakes in the automotive alliance, the trinity of companies including Mitsubishi has come up with an outline of plans for key markets that include India, Latin America, and Europe, as well as new initiatives that will take their partnership to new heights.

These new key projects aim to deliver ‘win-win, large-scale, and actionable benefits’ for alliance members that will encompass three dimensions: markets, vehicles, and technologies. Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi would benefit from these key projects in the mid-term while gaining short-term benefits from cost-sharing and cost avoidance. Note however that these terms are subject to change in the future and will be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Starting in India, the Renault Group and Nissan will collaborate on several new vehicle projects which include new SUVs which will be shared by Renault and Nissan as well as a new Nissan car based on the Renault Tiber. In addition, both companies are considering common A-segment electric vehicles for this market.

Moving to Latin America, the alliance is considering four new projects for this market. The first of which is a new half-ton pickup truck developed by the Renault Group which will be shared with Nissan in Argentina. The alliance is also pressing forward with the Nissan Frontier-Renault Alaskan collaboration. In Mexico, Nissan will produce a new model for the Renault Group, the first Renault vehicle to be produced in the country in 20 years. Lastly, Nissan and the Renault Group will cooperate on a city car segment EV using the Common Module Family Platform.

In Europe, the alliance will be exploring the following initiatives. The Renault Group and Mitsubishi will be developing new vehicles based on the next-gen ASX and Colt using assets from the Renault Clio and Captur. The Renault Group will also be bringing their FlexEVan to Europe’s Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) market and share it with Nissan. In addition, Nissan and the Renault Group will explore partnerships on C-segment EVs like the Nissan LEAF, including sharing technologies on common 800-volt architecture. The Renault Group also has plans for the future Nissan compact B-segment EV in their ElectriCity facility in France. The Alliance’s operation in Europe will cover the entire lifecycle of vehicles, starting from distribution, usage, recycling, and end-of-life.

Aside from their collaboration in the design, research, development, and manufacturing of vehicles, Nissan will invest 15 percent in Renault’s EV and software company, Ampere. This move aims to make Nissan a strategic investor and increase their business opportunities in the region. Mitsubishi has also shown its intent to invest in Ampere. Mitsubishi and Nissan will become customers of the Renault Group’s Horse Project, a project which aims to expand its scale and market coverage for its low-emission internal combustion engine (ICE) & hybrid powertrain technologies.

Although most of these plans under the overhauled agreement are not yet final, these preliminary plans are a sign that things are looking up for the three car manufacturers. Hopefully, the Alliance will flex its muscles soon and provide a ton of things to look forward to in the future.