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Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe to share new EV platform

The next-generation Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe EV will be built upon a common platform.


Arnaud Deboeuf, senior vice president of Renault-Nissan BV; the strategic management unit of the transnational alliance, has confirmed with industry journal Automotive News that the next-gen versions of both electric vehicles will share common underpinnings and electric motors.

Deboeuf added that both the new Zoe and Leaf will compete in the same segment, but that the Renault and Nissan models would still feature unique styling.

Given that the Nissan Leaf is dimensionally similar to the Volkswagen Golf, and the Renault Zoe is about the same size as the new Ford Fiesta, it's not clear which model will grow and which will shrink.

Although Deboeuf wouldn't be pinned down on launch dates for the new Zoe and Leaf, he did indicate that the new platform won't appear until after the Leaf's 2018 facelift.

Les Echos claims that the first product to be based on the new EV platform won't make its debut until 2020. By that stage the Leaf will be 10 years old, and the Zoe eight.

The two companies may continue to use different batteries for their EVs, Deboeuf stated.

Renault currently sources its EV batteries from LG Chem, and recently introduced an upgraded 41kWh lithium-ion battery pack for the Zoe, which gives the small hatch a range of 400km in the NEDC cycle.

Nissan, on the other hand, uses older technology that it developed and produces in-house. When equipped with the 30kWh battery pack (not offered in Australia), the Leaf has an NEDC range of 250km.

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