It was once an industry leader, a giant automotive group with great influence in the global market: Renault-Nissan. Born in 1999, “Alliance” initiated numerous synergies between the two manufacturers : sharing of platforms, engines or even entire models, joint purchasing centers, joint factories, etc. If that term is in quotes, it’s because it was actually very unbalanced for the Soldier Nissan. Renault owned 43.4% of its rival’s shares, while Nissan was only entitled to 15% of the Frenchman’s shares. After numerous management crises and the point of no return crossed in 2018 with the case of Carlos Ghosntwo partners broke up or almost broke up. Renault reduced its stake in Nissan to 15%, I the alliance closed its joint procurement centerthe last vestige of those rare partnerships she managed to establish.

Mitsubishi, the third of the group

But we tend to forget that since 2016, the Renault-Nissan alliance is called Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi ! The third thief, whose Nissan is the main shareholder (34%) made his ceremonial exit thanks to his countryman. The key is a win-win strategy: first allow Mitsubishi Motors to resume operations in Europe using the latest alliance technologies, including electrified ones. This is done today with the new Colt and ASX, which have been renamed Clio and Captur. And vice versa, will allow Renault and Nissan to benefit from Mitsubishi Motors’ all-wheel drive (4X4) know-how and its popularity in Southeast Asia. Mitsubishi has three plants in the region (in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam), which account for a third of its global sales. An interesting cake for Renault and Nissan!

Mitsubishi is advancing its pawns in the Ampere

While waiting for this second part to be implemented, Mitsubishi is moving its pawns to another table: electrification. Because the brand still doesn’t have a single 100% electric model, unlike Nissan (Leaf, Ariya) and Renault (Zoé, Mégane, Scénic), to name just their European models. The company has just announced the acquisition of a stake in Ampere, a new division of the Renault group that is involved in the research and development of electric technologies.. Mitsubishi will invest up to 200 million euros in the structure to be at the forefront of the return on investment. Nissan, for its part, has committed to invest 600 million euros. Ampere is the rising star of the group, which is due to hold its big IPO on September 1, 2024and will allow the brands of the group (Renault, Dacia, Alpine) and its partners to seriously accelerate in the electric sector.

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