Automotive Business Review — February 2018

6 WORDS IN ACTION http://www.abrbuzz.co.za

AUTO ALERT

by Frank Beeton

It is clear from the foregoing that “the Alliance” (now, apparently

its offi cial name) has fi rmly hitched its star to progressive

concepts like electrifi cation, autonomy and alternative vehicle

ownership as important components of its growth strategy.

While some of these may only play out over an extended period,

there is plenty of evidence that shorter-term planning elements

are fi rmly in place. These include moving Mitsubishi Motors

towards deeper localisation, joint plant utilisation, the use of

common vehicle platforms, joint involvement in light commercial

vehicle aftersales, and an expanded presence in mature and

emerging markets. Progress has already been made with the

integration of engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply-

chain, purchasing and human resources areas. Mitsubishi will

also gain access to Renault/Nissan’s Common Module Facility

architectures, which currently underpin the Nissan Rogue,

Qashqai, and X-Trail, the Renault Espace, Kadjar, Megane and

Kwid and the Datsun Go, by 2020.

The Alliance’s plans for electric and autonomous vehicle roll-

outs have been published, and are worth noting. They include

common scalable EV platforms for multiple segments by 2020,

a new family of EV motors and batteries from 2020, 12 new

pure electric vehicles by 2022, autonomous vehicles with full

human monitoring for highway applications in 2018, autonomous

vehicles with full human monitoring for city applications in 2020,

autonomous vehicles with partial human monitoring for highway

applications in 2020, and fully autonomous vehicles, without any

human interventions, for all applications, by 2022. Some of the EV

T

he takeover was, in itself, somewhat unusual and had

been triggered by an unhappy set of circumstances,

in that fuel economy data supplied to Japanese

authorities by MMC in respect of its mini vehicles, sold

under both Mitsubishi and Nissan branding, had been

overstated. The acquisition required just a $US 2,2 billion 34%

equity stake purchase, because of MMC’s highly fragmented

former ownership, with the largest single shareholder having

been Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited with only 12,63% of

the total equity. Industry observers were generally welcoming

of the takeover, in view of Mitsubishi’s history which included

past partnerships with Chrysler, the erstwhile DaimlerChrysler,

PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Volvo, Nissan, and numerous other Asian

manufacturers.

While the new Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi grouping promised

combined total sales volumes in excess of nine million units, it

was clear that work would be necessary to eliminate overlaps

and optimise its future performance. The fi rst evidence that this

work was well in hand recently emerged, in the form of “Alliance

2022”, a six-year plan announced by charismatic chairman and

chief executive offi cer, Carlos Ghosn. Notably, the most striking

element of this plan will be the achievement of 14 million unit

group annual sales by its conclusion, which should be enough to

ensure that Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi will lead the global market.

However, the plan consists of numerous items of detail, which

will be material to the achievement of the overall objective.

The announcement, in 2016, that Nissan Motor company was taking control of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, and that the

company was being added to the global Renault/Nissan alliance, was possibly the most important and positive development

in a year that was otherwise characterised by scandals relating to fuel consumption and emission manipulation, faulty

airbags, accusations of collusion, and other unsavoury developments in the global automotive industry. The important

ramifi cations of the expanded alliance, which had already achieved synergies of $US 180 billion in 2016, and enjoyed a

positive and growing working relationship with Daimler AG, included the creation of a potentially world-leading volume

producing group, and the stabilisation of a manufacturer that has experienced a somewhat turbulent history while

producing a number of highly successful and well-respected products

These include:

• Adoption of an offi cial “Alliance” logo and on-line presence.


• Annual cross-group synergies of € 10 billion by 2022.


• More than 9 million group vehicles to share four common
  product platforms.


• Three-quarters of alliance volumes to share common
  powertrains.


• Cross-group development of electrifi cation, connectivity and
  autonomous technologies.


• 12 pure electric (zero-emission) models to be launched,
  utilising common EV platforms and components.


• 40 vehicles to be launched using progressively-increasing
  levels of autonomous drive technology.


• The alliance to become an operator of robo-vehicle ride-
  hailing services.

Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi Alliance Rolls Out

A PROBING REVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT GLOBAL MOTOR INDUSTRY NEWS

A

UTO

LERT

“The entry of Mitsubishi Motor Corporation into the Renault-

Nissan Alliance will provide many co-operative product

opportunities, including in the pickup arena”