Alliance Ventures focuses on disruptive technology through new partnership with Plug and Play China

Alliance Ventures focuses on disruptive technology through new partnership with Plug and Play China

Press release – May 9, 2019

  • Three-year agreement will expand Alliance Ventures’ reach in China and provide Plug and Play start-ups with access to the world’s largest automotive alliance
  • Partnership will add to Alliance Ventures’ efforts to remain at the cutting edge of next-generation systems for the automotive industry
  • Alliance Ventures will invest up to $1 billion by 2022 to support open innovation

Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital fund that invests in technology start-ups for Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors, today announced a partnership with Plug and Play China to cooperate on open innovation in the world’s second-largest economy.

“China is leading innovation in the automotive industry,” said Francois Dossa, Alliance Global Vice President, Ventures and Open Innovation; Chairman of Alliance Ventures. “By harnessing the expertise of Plug and Play China, we can gain access to start-ups and technologies that will transform the mobility experience.”

Alliance Ventures and Plug and Play agreed to a three-year partnership in China that will benefit both groups. This latest agreement follows successful existing partnerships with Plug and Play both in Japan and in Silicon Valley. With access to Plug and Play China’s peerless start-up network, Alliance Ventures’ ability to identify and work with promising start-ups, carry out pilot projects, and acquire or invest in new technology opportunities will be turbo-charged. Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors will benefit through new business opportunities in the world’s largest automotive market and access to cutting-edge, next-generation technologies.

As an anchor partner of Plug and Play China, Alliance Ventures will connect to Plug and Play’s global innovation ecosystem through their twice-a-year acceleration program. The last investment by Alliance Ventures, PowerShare, an electric vehicle charging platform start-up based in China, was part of Plug and Play’s Mobility Acceleration Program.

The Acceleration Program’s first session took place on March 26 and 27 in Shanghai (China) and focused on autonomous drive, the internet of cars, electrification and new mobility. More than 85 start-ups were qualified by Plug and Play China with nearly 25 participating in the on-site pitch session. Alliance Ventures admitted 10 start-ups to participate in the three-month Acceleration Program.

“We are delighted to partner with the world’s number one automotive alliance and bring the scale of their platform to our members. Alliance Ventures recognized the efficiency of our mobility innovation platform and together we will look for opportunities to transform the mobility experience for people in China and around the world”, concluded Peter Xu, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Plug and Play China.

ABOUT PLUG AND PLAY CHINA

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in 28 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. We provide active investments with 220 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.
In 2015, Plug and Play came to China. As the ultimate technology accelerator and investment institution, Plug and Play is dedicated to helping startups grow through investment, acceleration, corporate innovation, and innovative consulting. We collaborate deeply with corporates, governments and universities for open innovation and joint development. Plug and Play China has invested and incubated more than 300 Chinese startups, and more than 200 startups have entered the “Plug and Play Unicorn Accelerator Program”. We are working in depth with all the central cities in China to build an acceleration platform for industrial advancement. In addition, we have imported more than 100 technology projects from the US, Germany, Russia, and Plug and Play accelerators in other countries around the world.
For more information, please visit www.pnpchina.com

ABOUT ALLIANCE VENTURES

Alliance Ventures is the strategic venture capital fund of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s largest automotive alliance. The fund, launched in 2018 and co-located in Amsterdam, Silicon-Valley, Paris, Yokohama, Beijing and Tel Aviv, plans to invest up to $1 billion in its first five years to support open innovation. Alliance Ventures targets technology and business model innovation in new mobility, autonomous driving, connected services, EV & energy and enterprise 2.0. By drawing on expertise and business opportunities from across the world’s largest automotive alliance, the fund makes strategic investments at all start-up stages and incubates new automotive entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of next-generation systems for the automotive industry.
www.alliance-2022.com/ventures/

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.7 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2018. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and mobility services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.
Alliance – English
Groupe Renault – English
Groupe Renault – French
Nissan – English
Nissan – Japanese
Mitsubishi Motors – English
Mitsubishi Motors – Japanese

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The Alliance establishes joint innovation hub in China to accelerate technology development for new mobility

The Alliance establishes joint innovation hub in China to accelerate technology development for new mobility

PRESS RELEASE – Paris/Tokyo, April 12, 2019

  • Renault and Nissan have established a new Research & Development hub in China, complementing their joint innovation labs in Silicon Valley, USA and Tel Aviv, Israel
  • The new lab in Shanghai is focused on developing technology for autonomous drive, connected and electric vehicles
  • The facility will enable the companies to leverage open innovation opportunities with Chinese start-ups and other partners
  • Technologies developed in Shanghai will be leveraged globally by Renault and Nissan

Renault and Nissan, the French and Japanese automotive alliance partners, today announced the establishment of a new research and development joint venture in Shanghai, China, the Alliance Automotive Research and Development (Shanghai), Ltd., which will be referred to as Alliance Innovation Lab Shanghai (AIL-SH). Renault and Nissan each hold 50% of this new entity which will conduct research and development focusing on autonomous drive, connected vehicles and electric vehicles. Technologies pioneered by the innovation hub will be potentially applied to Renault and Nissan vehicles sold in China and around the world.

“China is not only the world’s largest auto market but is also at the leading edge of new technologies that will change the face of future mobility” said Takao Asami, Alliance SVP, Research and Advanced Engineering. “From a strategic point of view, it is vital that the Alliance has a development hub in this thriving market, where the Alliance sold more vehicles than anywhere else in 2018. The knowledge and skills obtained here will be leveraged not just inside China but globally, helping to contribute to the demanding objectives of our Alliance 2022 mid-term plan,” Asami continued.

Kenju Kobayashi, the Alliance Global Director responsible for the AIL-SH, said: “Shanghai is a leading hub for innovation in China for automotive related technologies and across a range of industries. By bringing together the talents of the Alliance with the range of expertise found in Shanghai and across China, we will be able to aggressively pursue open innovation that transcends industry boundaries and rapidly develop technologies driving the business growth of Alliance members.”

Under the Alliance 2022 mid-term plan, 12 new zero-emission electric vehicles are due to be launched by 2022, and 40 vehicles are to be introduced with different levels of autonomy and over 90% of vehicles will be connected cars globally. The plan also includes a commitment to operating robo-vehicle ride-hailing mobility services.

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.7 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2018. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and mobility services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.

NEWSROOMS
Alliance – English
Groupe Renault – English
Groupe Renault – French
Nissan – English
Nissan – Japanese
Mitsubishi Motors – English
Mitsubishi Motors – Japanese

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Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi launches Alliance Intelligent Cloud on Microsoft Azure

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi launches Alliance Intelligent Cloud on Microsoft Azure

PRESS RELEASE – March 20, 2019

  • Alliance Intelligent Cloud built on Microsoft Azure to power the Alliance’s latest connected services
  • World’s leading automotive alliance to use Alliance Intelligent Cloud for connected infrastructure in nearly all 200 markets served by Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi
  • Alliance Intelligent Cloud to power the connected services in the all-new Renault Clio and the Nissan Leaf in Europe and Japan later this year

(Paris/Yokohama/Tokyo) Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s leading automotive alliance, today announced the production release of the Alliance Intelligent Cloud, a new platform that is enabling Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors to deliver connected services in vehicles sold in nearly all 200 markets served by the Alliance member companies. Culminating joint development efforts between the Alliance and Microsoft, the auto industry’s first global and most ambitious connected vehicle program will be deployed utilizing cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT technologies provided by Microsoft Azure. Azure provides the Alliance with a global data platform to securely capture, manage and analyze vehicle data to deliver intelligent services based on the vast volume of data created by connected vehicles.

Kal Mos, Global Vice President of Alliance Connected Vehicles at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said: “Today we are deploying a vehicle connectivity platform that will transform the digital experience for customers of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. Through our collaboration with Microsoft, we are introducing the most powerful and far-reaching connected vehicle platform. Leveraging the size and scale of the Alliance, we have built an intelligent cloud platform that sets the pace for our industry.”

“Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is a longstanding partner and our first strategic partner for the Microsoft connected vehicle platform.” said Jean-Phillipe Courtois, EVP and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing & Operations at Microsoft. “Today’s production release of the Alliance Intelligent Cloud enables a new generation of connected services powered by Microsoft Azure to come to market.”

The first vehicles produced with Alliance Intelligent Cloud technology will be the all-new Renault Clio and selected Nissan Leaf models sold in Japan and Europe. These are also the first vehicles powered by the Microsoft connected vehicle platform available to consumers at scale.

Vehicles utilizing the Alliance Intelligent Cloud will benefit from seamless access to the internet, providing enhanced remote diagnostics, continuous software deployment, firmware updates as well as access to infotainment services.

The Alliance Intelligent Cloud is a highly-scalable platform and will consolidate multiple legacy connected vehicle solutions with current and future connected car features and business operations that will support mobility services. The data-driven platform will enable advanced AI and analytics scenarios and accelerate time to market for new innovations and business initiatives.

Optimized for speed and efficiency, the Alliance Intelligent Cloud will connect to vehicles and share digital features and future innovations across multiple models and brands for consumers in different regions around the world. Features consolidated onto the connected platform include remote services, proactive monitoring, connected navigation, connected assistance, over-the-air software updates and other customer tailored services.

The Alliance is taking a unique approach to addressing the business opportunity provided by connected vehicles by owning, operating and designing its own intelligent cloud platform on Azure.

The Alliance Intelligent Cloud is capable of connecting Alliance vehicles with future smart cities infrastructure as it develops and with potential future partners. With this new initiative, any third-party seeking to connect with all legacy and future connected Alliance vehicles will have a single point of contact to partner with.

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI:

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.7 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2018. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and mobility services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.

NEWSROOMS
Alliance – English
Groupe Renault – English
Groupe Renault – French
Nissan – English
Nissan – Japanese
Mitsubishi Motors – English
Mitsubishi Motors – Japanese

ABOUT MICROSOFT:

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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Jean-Dominique Senard, Chairman of Renault, Hiroto Saikawa, CEO of Nissan, Thierry Bolloré, CEO of Renault and Osamu Masuko, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, announce the intention to create a new Alliance operating board

Jean-Dominique Senard, Chairman of Renault, Hiroto Saikawa, CEO of Nissan, Thierry Bolloré, CEO of Renault and Osamu Masuko, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, announce the intention to create a new Alliance operating board

Jean-Dominique Senard will act as Chairman of this new operating board of the Alliance, with the CEOs of Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi Motors also joining the board.

The new Alliance operating board will drive the operational cooperation between Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors and look for new ways to generate value for its respective shareholders and employees.

In order to continue to strengthen the Alliance as well as lay the foundations of its future successes, Jean-Dominique Senard, Hiroto Saikawa, Thierry Bolloré and Osamu Masuko are today announcing the intention to create an Alliance operating board for Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors.

The new Alliance Board will be the sole body overseeing the operations and governance in the Alliance among Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, in lieu of RNBV and NMBV. As such, it will be the face and primary driver of the Alliance’s “New Start”.

To lay the foundations of the new development stage of the Alliance, the new board will be composed of the Chairman of Renault, who will also act as Chairman of the new Alliance operating board, and the CEOs of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors; the operating decisions taken by the Alliance Board will be consensus-based, furthering the Alliance’s “win-win” approach.

The MOU agreed by all three parties is attached.

The definitive agreements will be signed in conjunction with the anniversary of the Alliance.

The new board intends to meet every month in Paris or Tokyo and will regularly update stakeholders on its key value initiatives and achievements. The Alliance operating board will ask for the creation of specific projects to make recommendations for and drive the execution of new ways to create incremental value of the three auto companies.

As the 20th anniversary of the Alliance approaches, the boards of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors would like to recognize the strong contribution the Alliance has made to the performance of all three companies, and their partners.

The creation of the new Alliance operating board is designed to help Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors become what they can be together – the top organization in the rapidly changing and highly competitive global auto market.

Through the commitment and loyalty of the employees of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, and a highly constructive cooperation with Daimler, the Alliance operating board will look to continue delivering total win-win for all those involved.

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.7 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2018. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and mobility services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.

www.alliance-2022.com
www.media.renault.com
https://newsroom.nissan-global.com/?lang=en-US
www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsrelease/

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Businesses need smarter tech in their fleets to survive e-commerce boom

Businesses need smarter tech in their fleets to survive e-commerce boom

PRESS RELEASE – February 26, 2019

New data from Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi highlights unpreparedness of small to medium-sized businesses to keep up with the growth of e-commerce

  • Small businesses with fleets need smarter technology to improve delivery efficiencies
  • Improved connectivity is considered most key to logistical success
  • More than half of small businesses (55%) believe fleets will be fully autonomous within 20 years1, by which point 66%2 predict they will also be fully electric

Almost a fifth (18%)3 of small business leaders say the sheer pace of the fast-moving world of e-commerce and the rising demand for deliveries is the biggest business challenge they face logistically, closely followed by the ability to keep up with regulation changes (17%)4.

Small businesses surveyed across the globe also highlighted changing customer expectations for delivery times (12%)5 and urban traffic and congestion (11%)6 as key concerns.

While 40% of small businesses feel well set up for the increasing demands of e-commerce7, research commissioned by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business – which is part of the Alliance, the world’s leading automotive partnership – has shown that almost a third (30%)8 believe their business is not ready for these demands as they need smarter technology.

These businesses have cited the need for smarter technology to improve delivery efficiencies, particularly companies with fleet sizes greater than 25 vehicles (45%)9.

With tech front of mind for driving business efficiencies, 70% of all small businesses believe that better connectivity could improve their business10. In addition:

  • 35% of small businesses already using smarter technology in their fleets said that business efficiency is the leading motivation for upgrading their vehicles11, followed by cost-savings (21%) and increased sustainability (14%)12.
  • The ability to speak with companies and individuals to whom they are delivering is considered the leading benefit of connectivity for 30% of small businesses13.
  • 29% of respondents also believe the capacity for vehicles in their fleets to communicate with each other is a key advantage of connectivity14, while 21% hope to use their vehicles as a third screen15.
  • 55% predict their fleets will be fully autonomous in the next 20 years with 38% believing this may happen in as little as in 10 years16.

Ashwani Gupta, Senior Vice President of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business, said: “As on-demand consumerism continues to rise, this is a crucial moment to ensure small businesses feel empowered to succeed in e-commerce. We’ve heard from business leaders themselves that prioritising smarter technology for fleets will help to reach their customers with increased speed and scale – factors that are becoming ever more crucial for survival in this space.

“The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV Business recognizes the importance of smart technology to increase efficiency and continues to work together to develop connected and autonomous vehicles that cater to the needs of business fleets of all shapes and sizes.”

Renault offers fleet management services for its commercial line-up. Renault EASY CONNECT for Fleet is an ecosystem of connected services for business users that simplifies managing vehicle fleets and reduces running costs.

The survey also looked at the wider expectations for autonomous and electric vehicle technologies, which are primed to bring far-ranging benefits and efficiencies to business fleet owners. Encouragingly, business owners in multiple countries and from a variety of sectors, including retail, catering and leisure, sales, media and marketing and healthcare, are recognizing this technology as being the future of the logistics industry. This was reflected in Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s latest LCV business sales, which saw a 13.5% year-on-year increase, in part due to Renault’s European EV van leadership, with a 46.2% market share. Reaching almost 2 million units, the numbers of trucks, vans and frame-based SUVs sold in FY18 was the highest number of sales in the organization’s history.

Between now and 2022, the Alliance will launch 12 new zero-emission electric vehicles, utilizing new common electric vehicle platforms and components for multiple segments. Over the same period, 40 vehicles will be introduced with different levels of autonomy, all the way to fully autonomous capability.

Groupe Renault, whose electrified LCV line-up is comprised of the Kangoo Z.E., Master Z.E., Twizy Cargo, and Zoe Societe, has announced that 100% of its vans will be electrified by 2022. The Nissan e-NV200 small all-electric van is seeing a significant upswing in demand. In 2018, production was up by 50% compared to the previous year to reach a total of 6,000 units. Mitsubishi offers the MINICAB MiEV van in Japan as well as commercial versions of the Outlander PHEV in some global markets.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH

This survey looked at the future of urban logistics and electrification among small business owners and logistics decision makers from a variety of industries within the UK, USA, China, France, Mexico, Australia and Japan. 3,257 global respondents of businesses with between 1 – 49 employees and with turnovers up to and above $100 million turnover took part between 21.12.2018 – 07.01.2019.

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.6 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2017. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.
www.alliance-2022.com
www.media.renault.com
www.nissan-newsroom.com
www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsrelease/

REFERENCES
[1] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q8 – In your opinion, how long will it be before fleets are fully autonomous? Cumulative figures derived from 13.9% responding “within the next 5 years”, 23.7% responding “within the next 10 years”, and 17.4% responding “within the next 20 years” – 55% in total
[2] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q7 – In your opinion, how long will it be before fleets are fully electric? Cumulative figures derived from 20.3% responding “within the next 5 years”, 29.5% responding “within the next 10 years”, and 16.4% responding “within the next 20 years” – 66.2% in total
[3] [4] [5] [6] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q2 – Logistically, what is your biggest challenge as a business? 17.8% of respondents answered “The growth of e-commerce and the rising demand for overall deliveries”, 16.7% responded “keeping up with regulations”, 11.6% responded “changing customer expectations for delivery times”, 10.8% responded “urban traffic and congestion”, and 10% responded “the need to become more sustainable”.
[7] [8] [9] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q4 – Thinking about your fleet do you believe your business is well set up for the increasing demands of e-commerce? 40.1% responded “yes”, 29.6% responded “no, we need smarter technology to improve delivery efficiencies i.e. a service where our fleets talk to each other”. This rises to an average of 45% of businesses when combining the following fleet size options ’26-30 vehicles’, ’31-50 vehicles’, 51-100 vehicles’, ‘More than 100 vehicles’ into a ‘Greater than 25 vehicles’ option in our reporting software.
[10] Global survey results of 2527 respondents Q9 – In your opinion, what are the benefits of connectivity to your business? (Tick all that apply) 28.9% could not see any benefit to connectivity.
[11] [12] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q3 – What is your main motivation for adopting new technologies within your fleet? 35.4% responded “business efficiency”, 21% responded “cost saving” and14% responded “to be more sustainable.”
[13] [14] [15] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q9 – In your opinion, what are the benefits of connectivity to your business? 30.3% responded “ability for businesses to speak with the companies and individuals they’re delivering to.” 28.9% responded “Ability for vehicles to communicate with each other,” 21.2% responded “Ability to use the vehicle as a third screen.”
[16] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q8 – In your opinion, how long will it be before fleets are fully autonomous? Cumulative figures derived from 13.9% responding in 5 years, 23.7% saying in 10 years, and 17.4% saying in 20 years. Equates to 55% in total / 37.6% for 10 years.

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Small businesses believe their fleets will be fully electric within 20 years

Small businesses believe their fleets will be fully electric within 20 years

PRESS RELEASE – February 26, 2019

New data from Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi highlights the strong demand for electric and autonomous fleets as e-commerce drives change

  • Sustainability is high priority for small business fleets
  • The larger the fleet and the higher the company turnover, the more critical environmental sustainability appears to become
  • Improved connectivity is the answer to logistical success, according to small businesses

Two thirds (66%)1 of small businesses predict their fleets will be fully electric within the next 20 years, with 50%2 expecting this to happen in half that time, global data shows.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business – which is part of the Alliance, the world’s leading automotive partnership – commissioned this survey to gain insight into thousands of small business owners and decision makers globally and found that almost all (93%) of business owners or decision-makers responsible for 50 vehicles or more, consider environmental sustainability of high importance. 3

This development comes at a time when automakers are dramatically increasing their efforts to respond to a growing customer need for sustainable vehicles, as businesses prepare for tighter emissions regulations and seek ways to address climate change.

This trend towards electrification was reflected in Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business’ latest sales results, as Renault’s European leadership of EV vans (46.2% market share) contributed to a 13.5% year-on-year growth of light commercial vehicles. The LCV business’ combined sales, which includes trucks, vans and frame-based SUVs, reached almost 2 million units, the highest sales totals in the organization’s history.

Groupe Renault, whose electrified LCV line-up is comprised of the Kangoo Z.E., Master Z.E., Twizy Cargo, and Zoe Societe, has announced that 100% of its vans will be electrified by 2022. The Nissan e-NV200 small all-electric van is seeing a significant upswing in demand. In 2018, production was up by 50% compared to the previous year to reach a total of 6,000 units. Mitsubishi offers the MINICAB MiEV van in Japan as well as commercial versions of the Outlander PHEV in some global markets.

This latest research has shown that the higher the turnover of the company and the bigger the fleet, the more important sustainability is to them.

Ashwani Gupta, Senior Vice President of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business, said: “These results show that the electrification of fleets is increasingly on the minds of our customers – not just for the financial efficiencies that EVs can deliver, but because environmental sustainability is clearly crucial to the future of their businesses. I’m impressed at how optimistic these fleet managers are about the speed in which their vehicles will be fully electrified.

“Renault is the global leader in making vans. Nissan makes great trucks and Mitsubishi are at the top when it comes to the production of frame vehicles. Combined, we are a truly global powerhouse, and working together on connectivity, powertrain developments and autonomous technologies will allow us to meet the rising demands of our customers and their businesses.”

In addition:

  • 55% see their fleets becoming fully autonomous within the next 20 years, with 38% saying this is likely to happen within as little as 10 years.4
  • 48% of businesses with a turnover of $100m or more stated environmental sustainability is ‘very important,’ while only 25% of businesses with turnover between $100k – $9.9m said the same.5
  • 35% of respondents said that business efficiency is their main motivation for adopting new technologies.6
  • The top identified logistical business challenge is the growth of e-commerce and the rising demand for deliveries, at 18%, even more so than keeping up with regulations (17%) and changing customer expectations for delivery times.7

Connectivity will be most key to success from a logistics perspective, according to a fifth of the business leaders surveyed.8 Other business owners believe automation will play the biggest role in their future success (14%).9

In terms of an organization’s willingness to adopt new technologies, more than a third (35%) 14 said business efficiencies are the main reason for investing in new tech within their fleet, 21% 15 said that cost saving drives their decisions, and 14%16 highlighted their desire to be more sustainable.

Renault offers fleet management services for its commercial line-up. Renault EASY CONNECT for Fleet is an ecosystem of connected services for business users that simplifies managing vehicle fleets and reduces running costs.

As part of the Alliance 2022 mid-term plan, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is continuing to forecast that annual synergies will exceed €10 billion by the end of 2022. The member companies will also increase commonality, targeting nine million units based on four common platforms. The plan will also extend the use of common powertrains to 75 percent of total sales. In addition, 12 new zero-emission electric vehicles will be launched during the plan, and 40 vehicles will be introduced with different levels of autonomy.

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH

This survey looked at the future of urban logistics and electrification among small business owners and logistics decision makers from a variety of industries within the UK, USA, China, France, Mexico, Australia and Japan. 3,257 global respondents of businesses with between 1 – 49 employees and with turnovers up to and above $100 million turnover took part between 21.12.2018 – 07.01.2019.

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world’s largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold more than 10.6 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2017. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany’s Daimler and China’s Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.
www.alliance-2022.com
www.media.renault.com
www.nissan-newsroom.com
www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsrelease/

REFERENCES

[1] [2] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q7. Cumulative figures derived from 20.3% believing electrification will happen within the next 5 years, 29.5% in the next 10 years, and 16.4% in the next 20 years.

[3] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q6 – How important is environmental sustainability for your company’s logistics? Cumulative figures were derived from 44.2% answering “very important”, 48.8% answering “fairly important” when combining the following two fleet size options, (‘51-100 vehicles’ category & ‘More than 100 vehicles’ category into a ‘Greater than 50 vehicles’ category) in our reporting software.

[4] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q8 – In your opinion, how long will it be before fleets are fully autonomous? Cumulative figures derived from 13.9% responding in 5 years, 23.7% saying in 10 years, and 17.4% saying in 20 years.

[5] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q6 – How important is environmental sustainability for your company’s logistics? 48% of businesses with a turnover of $100m or more responded “very important”. Only 24.2% of businesses earning $100k – $999,999 responded “very important; only 25.1% of businesses earning $1m – $9.9m responded “very important.”

[6] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q3 – What is your main motivation for adopting new technologies within your fleet? 35.4% of respondents answered “business efficiency.”

[7] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q2 – Logistically, what is your biggest challenge as a business? 17.8% of respondents answered “The growth of e-commerce and the rising demand for overall deliveries”

[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q1 – Logistically, what do you believe is most key to the future of your success as a business? 19.9% of respondents answered “improved connectivity”, 13.9% answered “autonomous technologies,” 9.2% answered “sub-contracting third party delivery services,” 7.4% answered “more vehicles”, 4.8% answered “drone deliveries”, 4.1% answered “fleet electrification.”

[14] [15] [16] Global survey results of 3257 respondents Q3 – What is your main motivation for adopting new technologies within your fleet? 35.4% of respondents answered “business efficiency”, 21.1% answered “cost savings”, 14% answered “to be more sustainable.”

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