The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Motor Group (Dongfeng) have announced a new joint venture for jointly developing and selling electric vehicles (EV) in China. The JV, called ‘eGT New Energy Automotive’, will see Renault and Nissan have 25 percent share each while Dongfeng will have 50 percent. eGT is expected to start production of the new EVs in the year 2019.

The newly formed eGT New Energy Automotive, which will be based in Shiyan, Hubei Province, will produce EVs at the Dongfeng plant which has a production capacity of 120,000 vehicles a year. The JV aims to leverage the core competencies of each partner and harness the full potential of the Renault-Nissan Alliance EV leadership.

The JV will design a new EV with intelligent interconnectivity, to be jointly developed by the Alliance and Dongfeng on an A-segment SUV platform of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. It will draw on the EV technologies and cost-effective car design experience from the Alliance, along with the competitive manufacturing costs from Dongfeng.

“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 CEO, Renault-Nissan Alliance.

Commenting on the partnership, Zhu Yanfeng, chairman, Dongfeng, said, “This project is the result of a joint effort to develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market, by the 'Golden Triangle' formed by Dongfeng, Renault and Nissan, with an innovative business model. We expect to meet the transformation trend of the market in China; where cars are becoming light, electric, intelligent, interconnected and shared.”

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China is the world’s largest BEV market. In 2016, 256 879 BEVs were sold in China, up 121 percent from the previous year. In the first seven months of 2017, production of BEVs reached 223,000 units and sales 204,000 units, representing an increase of 37.8 percent and 33.6 percent respectively.