Renault-Nissan alliance to build 1m electric cars a year by 2030
Renault and its partners Nissan and Mitsubishi will produce 1m electric cars a year by 2030, the French auto giant announced today, as it accelerates its move away from the internal combustion engine.
Chief executive Luca de Meo said that the carmaker would launch 10 new electric vehicle models by 2025, with 90 per cent of Renault’s models to be electrified by the end of the decade.
The first of these models, the new MeganE, will go on sale in 2022, the firm added.
It will also bring back a number of classic models, such as the Renault 5, which was discontinued in the 1990s, in a newly electrified form.
In order to support the transition to electric vehicles, de Meo said that Renault would develop a cluster of new production sites – an “Electri-City” – in northern France.
Bringing together a number of the automaker’s factories, along with a new battery gigafactory at Douai, will allow it to build the cars more cheaply, he said.
Today’s announcement is a notable change of course for Renault, which had previously put its backing behind so-called hybrid electric vehicles.
De Meo said: “Today is a historic acceleration of Renault Group’s EV strategy and for ‘made in Europe’.
“By building Renault ElectriCity, our compact, efficient, high-tech electric ecosystem in Northern France, together with our e-powertrain MegaFactory in Normandy, we are creating the conditions of our competitiveness at home.”