Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Announces Investor Day for Ampere BEV Company

Shortly after the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance announced its business strategy Alliance 2030, plans to completely shift towards a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) future came to light. The start of a new BEV subsidiary of the Alliance was introduced, and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance discussed the option of opening a new facility strictly for BEV production, with its future BEV company Ampere as the foundation. It’s going to take investments from all three partners, Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi to make this happen. Mitsubishi was reluctant but just announced an investment in Ampere before Renault opens the company to investors on November 15, 2023.

Okay, wait, how did this happen? Back in March 2022, the alliance announced Alliance 2030 and the goal of 35 new EV models by the end of the decade. 15 of these BEV models will be based on one of five platforms Renault is currently working on to underpin future BEV models. Four are currently in rotation, the CMF-EV and CMF-AEV the most commonly used. A CMF-BEV is currently in development, and might become the new favorite, able to provide an all-electric range (AER) of up to 250 miles. Even so, the Alliance is still waiting on Mitsubishi Motors to launch the first new model to lead the transition to a BEV lineup.

The new Mitsubishi Colt isn’t it, only offering a hybrid option and a rebadge of the Renault Clio. The new Mitsubishi xForce is said to be the new core model for the future of the lineup, but it’s a gasoline-only powertrain at the moment, so that’s not the new model either. It’s still a mystery what Mitsubishi is going to bring to the table, but it would seem that whatever it is will have a home at Ampere. In May 2022, Renault announced the plan to open a new sibling company of the Alliance to focus on BEV production, Ampere. Having already invested €10 billion into EV resources with 15 plants currently manufacturing parts, motors, and batteries for 10 upcoming EV models, Renault was definitely going to invest in this next endeavor. Nissan is planning to cover as much as 15-percent of the company with its investments, already committing to an investment of up to 600 million euros ($640.98 million. Mitsubishi Motors seemed unsure.

Now, in October 2023, Mitsubishi Motors announced that it will invest up to 200 million euros ($214 million) into the new BEV facility Ampere. Part of the Alliance and needing to keep the other two automakers happy, Mitsubishi will only be able to benefit from any fruits the new Ampere company brings if it also gets in on the ground floor. The current Mitsubishi BEV model lineup is slim, with only the Colt Hybrid, Outlander Plug-in Hybrid, and the overseas i-MiEV as the only choices. Expanding its lineup of battery-powered vehicles with this new investment will keep the Japanese automaker up to date with the shifting auto market. Now that all three automakers are helping to foot the bill, outside parties will also be able to get in on the ground floor of the new company and help fund it on investor day for Ampere, November 15, 2023.

Want to keep up with Mitsubishi Motors and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance? Follow along with us on Miami Lakes Automall social media.

Photo Source/Copyright: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance