Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Motor Group form new JV to co-develop electric vehicles in China
29 August 2017
The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd. (Dongfeng) have formed a new joint venture to co-develop and sell electric vehicles (EV) in China. The new joint venture, eGT New Energy Automotive Co., Ltd. (eGT), will focus on the core competencies of each partner and will harness the full potential of the Renault-Nissan Alliance electric vehicle leadership, as well as the resources of Dongfeng in the new energy industry, to meet the expectations of the Chinese market.
eGT will design a new EV with intelligent interconnectivity, that will be in line with the expectations of Chinese customers. It will be built on an A-segment SUV platform jointly developed by the Alliance. It will draw on the global leadership on EV technologies and cost-effective car design experience from the Alliance, and the competitive manufacturing costs from Dongfeng.
Renault, Dongfeng and Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. (Nissan) have signed an agreement to set up the new joint venture. Renault will hold 25% of eGT, Nissan will hold 25% and Dongfeng the remaining 50%.
The newly formed eGT is planned to be based in the City of Shiyan, Hubei Province in central China. The electric vehicle will be produced at the Dongfeng plant of Shiyan which has a production and sales capacity of 120,000 vehicles a year. Start of production of the new EV is forecast in the year 2019.
The establishment of the new joint venture with Dongfeng confirms our common commitment to develop competitive electric vehicles for the Chinese market. We are confident to meet the expectations of the Chinese customers and to strengthen our global electric vehicle leadership position.
—Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance
This project is the result of a joint effort to develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market, by the ‘Golden Triangle’ formed by Dongfeng, Renault and Nissan, with an innovative business model. We expect to meet the transformation trend of the market in China; where cars are becoming light, electric, intelligent, interconnected and shared. This is also testimony of a deepened and strengthened strategic cooperation between the three parties.
—Zhu Yanfeng, Chairman of Dongfeng
According to the China Association of automobile manufacturers, China is the world’s largest BEV market. In 2016, 256,879 BEV were sold in China, up 121% from the previous year. In the first seven months of 2017, production of BEVs reached 223,000 units and sales 204,000 units, representing an increase of 37.8% and 33.6% respectively. The new move aims to tap the potential of the fast-growing Chinese segment of the market.
This is an interesting JV with the potential to multiply production of various electrified vehicles.
China has the world largest market for EVs and many other similar JVs will maintain China as number one leader for lower cost higher performance production and evolution of batteries and EVs.
Posted by: HarveyD | 29 August 2017 at 08:05 AM