Japanese automaker Nissan Motor will invest in French peer Renault’s electric vehicle (EV) unit Ampere even after its listing plans fell through. Meanwhile, the carmaker will also be evaluating its partnership with Honda Motor to further build its global EV expansion. “We want to be a global (EV) player in the world,” Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida told reporters during a press briefing in Chennai. He added that the company wants to deepen its partnership with Renault, and through that, it’s presence in Europe.
Thus, regardless of the IPO, the company is looking at Ampere. “We are already discussing about Ampere, our investment,” Uchida added. In December, Nissan had confirmed it would invest 600 million euros (USD 650 million) in Renault’s EV business Ampere, listing plans for which the French car-maker ditched earlier this year because of sluggish stock market conditions. The latter’s chairman last month clarified that the decision will not delay investments from Nissan or other long-time partner Mitsubishi.
Both Uchida and Renault CEO Luca de Meo, in their first visit to India, noted that the country is a tough and competitive market and would require government support and an ecosystem for the transition to EVs. However, their visit highlights that India is an important market especially as carmakers globally face intense competition from Chinese rivals. Under their partnership, both the brands will launch a five-seater and a seven-seater car each in India with plans to export them.
Nissan Motor was once a pioneer in EVs with its all-electric mass-market model Leaf. The 91-year-old company is also simultaneously fielding a partnership with larger domestic rival Honda Motor in a strategic bid to stave off stiff competition in the EV space from China’s BYD, Tesla and other global automakers. “With Honda, we just started to do the feasibility study,” Uchida told reporters, without disclosing further details of the collaboration.
As per the non-binding MoU signed, Nissan and Honda are looking at areas of “potential collaboration”, but have yet to determine the scope. All three automakers are open to working together in any region, Uchida had said earlier this month.