Renault Group's Ampere brand will launch a below €20K EV, will democratize EVs in Europe

15 November 2023, 02:42:55

Ampere is an autonomous company that designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets electric passenger cars under the Renault brand in Europe. On November 1st, 2023, the establishment of the company was fully completed. It now includes 11,000 employees, of which 35% are engineers, focusing on EV and software technologies. Ampere benefits from strong assets for which most investments have already been made, including two EV-native platforms and a highly productive industrial ecosystem in France with low carbon emission standards: ElectriCity and Cléon. As a leader in mid-size and compact cars in Europe, Renault Group, and therefore Ampere, is well positioned to address the B and C-segments that together are expected to represent 75% of the European EV market by 2030. These segments are forecast to grow by around 25% CAGR between 2023-2030. To capture this opportunity, Ampere aims to democratize EVs in Europe, by reaching EV / ICE price parity before its competitors in the B and C segments. Ampere already has a major competitive advantage with its two EV-native platforms that are cost-effective by design and fit for purpose:

AmpR Small platform for the B-segment (previously CMF-B EV)
AmpR Medium platform for the C-segment (previously CMF-EV)

Beyond these platforms, Ampere has a clear roadmap to reduce its cost, based on a holistic EV system approach. By 2027/2028, Ampere targets to reduce variable costs between the 1st and the 2nd generation of C-segment electric vehicles by 40%, following a continuous trajectory, along 3 main levers:

EV engine (battery and e-powertrain) - 50% reduction on battery cost per vehicle for the same range and 25% reduction on e-powertrain cost per vehicle
Vehicle (platform and upper body) - 25% reduction in platform cost per vehicle and 15% reduction in upper body cost per vehicle
Operational excellence allows a reduction of 50% in manufacturing and logistic costs

As a result of its continuous cost reduction plan, the first major step has been reached with Scenic E-Tech which is already at Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) parity with hybrid vehicles. The EV/ICE price parity is expected to be reached by 2027/2028 with the 2nd generation (Megane-E-Tech and Scenic E-Tech successors) while preserving margins. On the B-segment, Ampere will start with Renault 5 in 2024 and Renault 4 in 2025 (starting price of Renault 5 around €25K) and "Legend", a new electric car below €20K (car to be revealed at the Ampere Capital Markets Day).

"Legend" is the fit-for-purpose urban vehicle with no compromise: best-in-class efficiency with only 10 kWh/100km, 75% lower CO₂ emissions than the average European ICE car sold in 2023 over its lifecycle, zero tailpipe CO₂ emissions and lower raw materials consumption thanks to its compact size. Made in Europe, the car will be offered at an entry price below €20K (before subsidies) which will represent less than €100 per month for Renault Group's clients.

This line-up will be extended with two additional cars for the second generation, representing a total of seven vehicles by 2031. From a target of ~300,000 vehicle sales in 2025, Ampere expects to sell ~1 million vehicles in 2031, reaching a market share of ~10%. Ampere will produce at least two models for Alpine, the next Micra for Nissan and another model for Mitsubishi Motors. Ampere will also support the Dacia electrification journey and will provide software solutions for the entire Renault Group.

Ampere benefits from a unique ecosystemic approach to cover the full EV value chain with limited investments and technological agility, through partnerships with the best players for battery and e-powertrain development. Ampere is also a pioneer in zero-rare-earth e-powertrain.

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