Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance New Medium SUV for Mitsubishi from Ampere

“And we have lift off!” At least, that’s what we think the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance should be saying after announcing its plans for the new Ampere battery-electric vehicle (BEV) facility. Initially announced in 2022, Ampere was a proposal by Renault to build a new facility to handle production of BEVs and other electrified options and take some of the weight off of the three automakers while still being able to focus on its current lineup and expanding it. In that same year, Renault pushed the idea to brand off a whole new business, and set up Ampere as an EV subsidiary of the Renault-Nissan-Alliance. Renault and Nissan were waiting on Mitsubishi Motors, which agreed to invest in Ampere 2023. Now that all three automakers are on board, plans for the Ampere business and BEV facility have already been announced, such as a medium-size SUV for Mitsubishi Motors in multiple markets.

In 2022, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance announced Alliance 2030, a new business strategy to produce 35 new BEV models by 2030. Less than a decade, that’s a large target goal to meet. With most resources and production plants focused on building other models, a new facility solely for the production of BEV models needed to be constructed. With all three automakers in the Alliance sharing resources, and sometimes just rebadging a model for a different region – the Mitsubishi Colt is just a rebadged Renault Clio – producing the same vehicle with minor tweaks or styling choices for each automaker at one place can help to streamline production for the future of the lineup.

That was the initial idea, but Mitsubishi Motors wasn’t too keen on investing just yet. Renault was already making considerable headway with 15 plants currently manufacturing parts, motors, batteries for ten upcoming BEV models, but it would eventually need some help. Nissan considered an investment of as much as 15 percent, plus its cross-shareholdings with Renault, and has to date invested $640.98 million. Renault turned the facility into a business plan to provide BEVs for all three automakers, and Mitsubishi Motors invested $214 million) into the subsidiary.

It would seem that Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors will benefit from Ampere first. Development of an electric Nissan Micra for the compact car segment in the European market will see a production cost reduction of 50 percent. A medium-sized electric SUV for Mitsubishi is already underway, also able to keep costs down, but will first be releasing vehicles in its primary markets, Southeast Asia and Europe. Later in 2024, Renault had intentions to spin off its EV business and conduct an initial public offering for its respective region.

Several years have passed since Mitsubishi Motors was supposed to introduce a new vehicle to the market. The 2024 xForce overseas is new, but it’s a gasoline model. Said to be the new “core model” of the automaker, we don’t see how it fits into the plans for the development of 35 new BEV models by 2030, but if Ampere is a separate business under the Alliance, then Mitsubishi Motors is right on target for its gasoline-powered models. It’s too bad there isn’t a lot of information, or any, about the new medium-sized SUV for Mitsubishi Motors. There have been so many good Mitsubishi BEV concepts over the years, just one hint would be nice.

Oh, well. To find out what happens next with the Ampere BEV facility and new Mitsubishi models, follow along with us on University Mitsubishi social media.

Photo Source/Copyright: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance