Renault-Nissan Alliance inks Chinese electric car deal

The global march of the Renault-Nissan Alliance secured another victory this week, inking its first Chinese deal in a move that should see the electric vehicle partnership deliver charging infrastructure and vehicles to the country from early 2011.

The Alliance, which has signed partnership agreements with 19 governments and cities globally in the past few years, said it has signed a deal with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) that will result in it providing electric cars to a government-backed pilot programme designed to roll out the technology in 13 cities.

In addition to the partnership with the central government, Nissan and Renault also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the municipal government of Wuhan that should see the two auto giants co-operate on a project to make the city China's first zero-emission mobility city.

Toshiyuki Shiga, chief operating officer of Nissan, said that the company would "work closely with our local partners to develop the EV market" through the provision of blueprints for battery charging networks and programmes for mass marketing the technology, as well as the supply of electric vehicles.

He added that the partnership was further evidence of Nissan's belief that " zero emissions are the ultimate direction for alternative energy vehicles".

The Chinese deals are the latest in a series of partnerships that underline Renault-Nissan Alliance's position as one of the most ambitious electric car projects in development.

Renault has said it plans to start selling an electric vehicle in 2011, with the Lithium-ion battery pack coming from Nissan and NEC and the companies have stated that they will roll out electric cars globally from 2012.

The Alliance has also announced plans for several pilot schemes, most notably through its deal to supply vehicles for the charging networks being planned by US-based Project Better Place, as well as agreements to develop its own pilot programmes in the North West of England, Portugal, France, Japan, and Arizona and Tennessee in the US.

However, the Chinese market could be a particularly tough market to break given the presence of incumbent electric car supplier BYD, which last year won the race to become the first company to launch a plug-in hybrid and has vowed to become the world's largest car company by 2025.