Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi to merge EV platform

Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi will join forces around their electric vehicle platforms in order to cut costs.

To make the changes, the Nissan Leaf will be used as a base for products in the future,” The Nikkei newspaper reports.

“The three carmakers will share key components such as the motor, inverter and battery, a move that would lower the Nissan Leaf’s price by about a fifth,” the paper says.

The plan is to get the new Leafs on the road by 2018.

The strategy comes as auto giants Volkswagen AG and Toyota are also aiming to mass-produce battery electric vehicles amid tightening emissions and fuel-economy regulations around the world.

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.