Renault achieves EV 'cost breakthrough' with Nissan, exec tells ANE Congress

Renault has had a "significant" breakthrough in cost reduction by co-developing its new CMF-EV electric vehicle platform with alliance partner Nissan.

"We have achieved a 30 percent reduction on the platform cost, we have reduced the battery cost by 30 percent and the e-motor by 20 percent," Jean-Paul Drai, Renault Group's product development director for EVs, said during the latest Automotive News Europe Congress Conversations.

Click here to view the panel discussion.

The CMF-EV platform is versatile enough to be used for a low-riding crossover such as the Morphoz concept that Renault debuted earlier this year as well as a high-riding SUV, Drai said during a panel discussion on the future of EVs in Europe.

He said another success the partners achieved with the new architecture was that charging performance has been improved under all conditions by introducing "innovative thermal management of the vehicle and the battery."

Renault has been a pioneer in EVs in Europe, led by the Zoe, which has been a top-selling EV in the region since its launch in late 2012.