Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn: $7,000–8,000 Renault EV Is The Aim For China
The CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Carlos Ghosn, recently made some very interesting comments concerning strategy for the electric vehicle market in China while speaking at the New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference in Paris.
The most interesting statement was that Renault was aiming for the eventual release of an electric vehicle in China that would sell for $8,000 or less after incentives were factored in. As China currently offers very substantial electric vehicle purchase incentives, however, this isn’t as low (or difficult) as it might sound at first.
The ultimate goal for the Chinese market, though, is to sell electric vehicles in that price range without any incentives factored in, Ghosn noted. His exact statement (as quoted by Reuters: “What we want to do is bring a $7,000-8,000 electric car without incentives. … If we are able to make this kind of breakthrough, it’s going to change the game.”
No kidding. But, seemingly anyway, that’s easier said than done. The Renault-Nissan Alliance has been playing its hand close to its chest as of late, though, especially with regard to electric vehicles, so who knows? The blitz release of a notably updated Renault Zoe EV a few months ago caught most people by surprise. It meant that Renault actually brought the first long-range, affordable, fully electric car to market — not GM or Tesla.
Considering how rapidly the Chinese electric vehicle market is expected to grow over the coming years, it seems very likely that the Alliance is putting a lot of effort into cracking the market.
The local joint-venture that Renault operates through in the country, Dongfeng Renault Automobile Company, is reportedly slated to begin public testing of a self-driving electric vehicle this month.
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