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Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault to Lower EV Prices by 20% by Sharing Nissan LEAF Platform

We recently reported that Mitsubishi and Nissan would begin to share all EV tech, and already we are getting a glimpse of what that might mean for the global market.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, Nissan is planning to mass-produce a new $17,000 electric car, making it significantly cheaper than the existing Nissan LEAF.

As global competitors ramp up their production of hybrids, plug-ins, and electrics, Mitsubishi, Renault, and Nissan will be able to benefit from major savings by sharing the platform of the next-generation LEAF, including batteries and the same motor and inverter.

By 2018, Renault and Mitsubishi will no longer develop their own electric car platforms, which they expect will help lower EV prices by as much as 20% and bring them in line with the cost of similar, gas-powered vehicles.

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The upcoming Renault Zoe will be the first vehicle to be underpinned by the next-gen LEAF platform. The LEAF and Zoe were developed separately in the past, though combined sales account for the largest proportion of the electric car market with over 370,000 units sold.

There’s no word yet as to what Mitsubishi vehicle the Nissan LEAF platform would support, but it fits perfectly in Mitsubishi’s recent efforts to electrify its lineup, and without compromising the automaker’s identity. Even though they would use the same platform, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Renault would still be responsible for the design of each of their cars.

The benefits of platform-sharing are clear: by cutting costs on R&D, the automakers can raise their profit margins, focus on improving other aspects of the cars, lower the cost of the cars, or a combination of all three. As EVs become increasingly widespread and competitive, the latter two options in particular will be critical.

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Source: Nikkei Asian Review