The three automakers are expected to announce the plans on Thursday, which will include rolling out more than 30 EV models in total through fiscal 2030 using jointly developed platforms.
Nissan has already announced it will release 15 new EVs over the next five years, while Renault and Mitsubishi plan to launch 10 and four new models, respectively. The latest plan indicates the three companies will put out additional EV models.
Nissan intends to commercialise the all solid-state batteries that it developed by the fiscal year ending March 2029 for use by all three alliance members, with the mass production expected to reduce their cost to a level on par with gasoline vehicles.
The automakers will also expand their alliance to include services that involve EVs. Both Renault and Mitsubishi are participating in Nissan’s battery-recycling operation launched in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture, and they will extend the business to Europe and the US.
Similarly, the autonomous vehicle operation Nissan is piloting in Yokohama and elsewhere in Japan will be extended to Europe.
The Japanese-French team will make basic semiconductor designs uniform by fiscal 2030, to counteract the global chip shortage that has persisted since last year.
The automakers currently use chips with differing designs, and assembly plants worldwide have been forced to cut production due to the supply crunch.
With shared semiconductor designs, the companies will be able to procure the components jointly. Chip suppliers in turn will prioritise deliveries to the alliance. If one team member runs short on semiconductors, it can turn to the other two to procure the needed volume.
In addition, the automakers will share EV software in order to efficiently develop automotive systems.
Propelling this expanded partnership is a sense of urgency. The three automakers once stood at the leading edge of EV development. Mitsubishi released the i-MiEV, Japan’s first mass-produced EV, in 2009, Nissan followed a year later with the Leaf, and Renault launched the Zoe in 2012.
As late as 2011, the alliance commanded a share of the EV market exceeding 50%. But the birth of Tesla and other new rivals has upended the balance: Tesla enjoyed a 21% share in 2021, while the alliance dropped sharply to 3%. The new framework aims to recapture lost ground in the EV race.