Future electric cars from Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault will share the platform of the Nissan Leaf, according to a report from The Nikkei. The newspaper reports that the companies aim to lower car costs by up to 20 percent with the move, bringing their electric cars closer in price to the gas guzzlers of the world.
The Nikkei cited unnamed sources in its report about the manufacturers’ plans. Automotive News reports that Nissan, which is partners with Renault and took control of Mitsubishi Motors in May, expects to come out with a remodeled Leaf to go on sale midway through 2018. That car, according to the report, will be the shared platform for the three manufacturers’ future electric vehicles.
By using the same platform, The Nikkei cites unnamed sources in reporting that Nissan wants to bring the starting costs of its plug-in vehicle down to $17,000. If it isn’t obvious from the $35,000 starting price of Tesla’s Model 3, which the manufacturer built in order to expand the electric market to buyers with a lower budget, the average price of electric cars is pretty hefty in comparison to their gas counterparts.
According to Reuters, the move comes as automotive giants like Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corporation are also moving toward mass producing electric vehicles with the tightening emissions and fuel-economy rates worldwide. From Reuters:
Franco-Japanese alliance partners Renault and Nissan have been among the most vocal proponents of the zero-emission technology but have struggled to lower costs enough as they developed their electric cars separately.
The companies will share the battery, motor and inverter of the cars in order to save money by making joint purchases from suppliers, according to The Nikkei.