Nissan-Renault in JV with Dongfeng

BEIJING: Nissan Motor and its alliance partner Renault are setting up a new venture in China with Dongfeng Motor Group to design and build electric cars, joining a list of global carmakers aiming to make such vehicles in China.

The carmakers are attempting to tap into a boom for such cleaner “new energy” vehicles in the world’s biggest car market and gearing up to meet its anticipated stringent plug-in car quotas.

Ford Motor Co announced earlier this month it was exploring setting up a joint venture with car maker Anhui Zotye Automobile Co to build electric vehicles in China under a new brand.

Tesla, Daimler AG and General Motors have announced plans for making electric vehicles in China, which wants electric and plug-in hybrid cars to make up a fifth of the country’s car sales by 2025.

The new joint venture, called eGT New Energy Automotive Co, will be owned 25 per cent each by Nissan and Renault with Dongfeng owning 50 per cent, said Nissan and Renault yesterday.

They said eGT will design a new electric vehicle on a subcompact crossover sport utility vehicle platform of the Renault-Nissan alliance.

“The establishment of the new joint venture with Dongfeng confirms our common commitment to develop competitive electric vehicles for the Chinese market,” said Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Renault-Nissan alliance.

The game changer for global carmakers is China — a car market with strong potential for growth where stringent policies favouring cleaner energy cars are being aggressively pursued. Reuters