Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has confirmed that the company, in conjunction with its joint-venture partner Dongfeng, is working to develop cheap EV technology for China.
Based upon the Renault Fluence, the new electric vehicle will be built by the Dongfeng-Renault Automotive Company at its new plant in Wuhan. The underpinnings of the car will be shipped from Korea via the CKD route and assembled at the facility. While the Kadjar, which is currently being built at the facility, wears the Renault badge, the new EV will sport a Dongfeng badge.
At present, expensive zero-emissions cars are failing to gain acceptance in the Chinese market and Ghosn believes that car companies will have to focus on developing “cheap and frugal” electric cars for the market.
When asked by our sister publication Autocar UK about what part electric vehicles would play in his strategy for China, Ghosn said: “At the moment it is very limited because the electric car market in China is very low. The EVs that are sold here are very cheap electric cars. Cars that are a little bit more sophisticated and a higher price are not selling well.
“The Nissan Leaf is sold in China,” he said. “It is a very nice car but it is selling a few hundred per month. We envision much bigger [sales] than that. We know that the price is a handicap; people are buying very cheap electric cars.
“Obviously, however, with very low performance you can manage that. So the question is, what is the best compromise between an acceptable performance and the lowest price possible? This is something that doesn’t exist today and we are willing to find a solution. I bet there is going to be a lot of development work on very affordable electric cars.”
The Chinese government has set an ambitious target of having five million electric and hybrid vehicles on its roads by 2020.
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