Renault to Assemble Vehicles in Mexico After Two-Decade Hiatus

As part of the revamp of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, the group announced a new three-step program to boost the added value of the three automakers in Latin America, India and the EU. This plan prioritizes electromobility and decarbonization and will allow the three companies to take advantage of joint technology development.

The program prioritizes the creation of high-value operational projects in Latin America, India and the EU and the enhancement of workable agility to boost collaboration. It will also revamp shareholding participation of the three automakers, according to Cluster Industrial.

Renault is also set to resume car manufacturing in Mexico after a 20-year hiatus, using Nissan's A1 plant in Aguascalientes. Furthermore, the Japanese and French automakers will market two new all-electric vehicles in Latin America. Both vehicles will be affordable A-segment vehicles (three- and five-door compact hatchbacks) that use the Common Module Family (CMF-AEV) platform.

In addition, both companies announced that the Nissan Frontier and Renault Alaska collaboration will expand through a new pick-up truck model to be assembled in a French plant in Argentina.

The Japanese automaker plans to invest up to 15% in Ampere, Renault's EV and software entity in the EU, aiming to become a strategic investor. Through this investment, Nissan seeks to tackle new business opportunities in the EU. Mitsubishi is also considering investing in Ampere, marking a significant step towards the growth and expansion plans of both companies in the EU’s market. 

With this investment, Nissan and Mitsubishi will become partners of Renault’s Group’s Project Horse, an initiative that aims to increase the market share of its low-emissions internal combustion engines (ICE) and hybrid powertrain technologies.

The new collaboration is set to start before March 31, 2023, replacing the current 20-plus year old agreement. The new alliance agreement will be in effect for an initial period of 15 years. Renault and Nissan have agreed to a new framework in which Renault will reduce its stake in the Japanese car maker from 43% to 15%, which is equal to Nissan's stake in the French automaker. This means that Nissan will now have equal voting rights with the 15% cross-shareholding position, as reported by MBN. This decision comes after months of negotiation between the two companies, and aims to maximize value creation for stakeholders.