Once an EV leader, the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance has fallen behind. But on Thursday the automaker will unveil an ambitious EV plan that could help it make up lost ground, Reuters reported Sunday.
\”The Alliance to 2030\” plan would include a $23 billion investment over the next five years, as well as plans for 30 new electric models underpinned by five platforms, according to the report, which cited two anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
The three automakers have already developed four EV platforms, the report noted. But they are also looking to develop a fifth platform called CMFB-EV to be used for compact Renault models, as well as an electric version of the Nissan Micra subcompact due later in the decade, the report said.
Renault 5 Prototype
It\’s unclear what this means for the United States market, however. The only Alliance EV set to arrive here is the Nissan Ariya crossover. Until other EVs arrive—which could be several more years—the Ariya and the aging Nissan Leaf will coexist.
The plan will also emphasize “intensified cooperation” among the automakers, highlighting a “shared vision on electrification and connected mobility,” one source told Reuters.
In November 2021, Nissan revealed a plan for 15 EVs by 2030, with solid-state batteries in the works for 2028. That plan aimed to spend nearly $18 billion.
2022 Nissan Leaf
Earlier targets from Nissan have been called out as conservative, and former CEO Carlos Ghosn—the father of both the Alliance and the Nissan Leaf—said last month that the company is being too timid about EVs.
Under Ghosn, Nissan launched the Leaf in late 2010 and aimed for cumulative global EV sales of 500,000 units by 2012. Nissan only passed 500,000 global Leaf sales in 2020, after 10 years on the market.
So Nissan has been burned by overly ambitious plans before. But with rival automakers preparing launch large numbers of EVs, Nissan and its alliance partners might need a more aggressive plan in order to keep up.
