Originally thought that Ghosn's arrest was the tip of the iceberg of renexual separation from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, with the imprisonment of the soul figure Ghosn, the alliance will soon disintegrate, did not think, they seem to have done better. On January 27, 2022, shortly after Nissan released Vision 2030 at the end of November last year, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance released Vision 2030, aiming to clarify the common investment and development route of the alliance in the next 10 years, with the core responding to the wave of electrification and intelligence, so as to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The first of course is the commonality that is conducive to mutual cost management, and the alliance notes that "members have developed a 'smart differentiation' methodology, which clarifies the level of versatility of each model, integrates composable parameters such as platform, production plant, powertrain or vehicle segmentation, and complements and strengthens model differentiation through more stringent design and upper body differences." ”
For example, the C/D platform will be responsible for the production of five models from the alliance's three brands (Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail, Mitsubishi Outlander, Renault Austral and an upcoming seven-seater SUV). By 2026, the use of the common platform among the alliance members will increase from the current 60% to more than 80%, covering 90 models. As part of this plan, Mitsubishi Motors will introduce two new models to the European market, including a new ASX based on Renault's best-selling models.
Brand new Qashqai
In the face of the trend of electrification of the global automotive industry, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance will invest more than 10 billion euros in the field of electrification. In its core markets of Europe, Japan, the United States and China, the alliance's 15 plants produce components, motors and batteries for 10 all-electric models. At present, the sales volume of pure electric vehicle models in the alliance has exceeded 1 million units, and the cumulative mileage has reached 30 billion kilometers. Over the next five years, we will invest 23 billion euros in electrification and accelerate our development.
It plans to launch 35 new pure electric models by 2030. Among them, 90% of the models will be produced on the five general purpose pure electric model platforms: CMF-A EV platform: the world's most economical pure electric model platform for the production of the new Dacia Spring; KEI-EV platform series (mini car): production of ultra-compact pure electric models; LCV-EV platform series: for the production of Renault Kangoo and Nissan Town Star models; CMF-EV platform: global flexible pure electric model platform for the production of Nissan Ariya, Renault Mega E-Tech Electric and other models will have more than 15 models based on the CMF-EV platform by 2030, with an annual production capacity of more than 1.5 million units.
Nissan Machi's successor – a new electric vehicle based on the CMF B-EV platform
In addition, by 2024, the alliance will release the CMF-B EV platform, positioned as a compact all-electric model platform. The platform offers an all-electric model with a range of up to 400 km, reducing production costs by 33% and energy consumption by more than 10% compared to the existing Renault ZOE. The platform will produce 250,000 Renault, Alpine and Nissan brand vehicles per year, including the Renault R5 and Nissan's new compact electric vehicles. The new cars will be designed by Nissan, developed by Renault and produced at the Renault Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Center in northern France.
The production of a large number of electric vehicles requires the use of batteries, for which the alliance plans to build a battery capacity of 220GWh, and can choose a common battery supplier in the world's major core markets to achieve the scale and availability of batteries, and plans to reduce battery costs by 50% by 2026 and 65% in 2028. In terms of battery technology innovation, the alliance expects to achieve mass production of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) by mid-2028 and reduce battery costs to $65 per kWh to achieve cost parity for all-electric models and fuel models.
Renault ZOE
In terms of intelligence, through the sharing of platforms and electronic devices, it is expected that by 2026, the alliance will have 45 models and more than 10 million vehicles equipped with autonomous driving assistance systems. By then, more than 5 million Alliance cloud systems will be delivered each year, and 25 million vehicles will be connected to Alliance Cloud systems. Renault will lead the consortium in developing a common centralized electrical and electronic architecture, with a holistic hardware and software program to deliver maximum benefits and performance. By 2025, the alliance will launch the first fully software-defined car, improving the car's over-the-air download (OTA) performance throughout the product lifecycle.
The editor said: If 22 years ago, Ghosn, who single-handedly turned the tide over the fallen, was the savior of Nissan, then more than 20 years later, redemption itself has a phased meaning, but it is not lifelong. To put it bluntly, Ghosn is very cost-saving, for Nissan, which had sufficient technical reserves at that time, saving costs can save a life, but in the long run, in the automobile market with technological competition as the core, it is inevitable to mistake the company in the long run. From the perspective of consumer terminals, the 1.6L NA engine and CVT transmission that have remained unchanged for 10,000 years are no longer enough to support Nissan to go further. The survival status of Renault and Mitsubishi in the global core market is also precarious, and from this perspective, I am afraid that Ghosn's downfall is necessary for this alliance.
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance's 2030 vision can be said to be a "timely rain" for alliance members to seize the last window of self-help, late is late, and the pace cannot be said to be leading, but at least there is hope of catching up. However, whether it can catch up with the electrified and intelligent train is still unknown.