UNDER THE SKIN JESSE CROSSE
ALTHOUGH EV SALES are on the up, there’s a yawning price chasm in most cases between them and their ICE counterparts. So far, some manufacturers have relied on the power of their brand or slick design appeal. But apart from MG, there’s been little evidence of the industry as a whole trying that hard to reach cost parity with conventional models.
Thankfully, that mindset looks to be shifting with news that Renault is physically testing its CMF-B platform with nine mules. It will form the basis of the new Renault 5, which looks fabulous. But, more important, the platform is 30% cheaper than the outgoing Zoe to make.
Renault isn’t alone. Nissan announced in March that its new ‘X-in-1’ powertrain packages will reduce driveline costs by 30% by 2026 compared with 2019. It also expects to achieve price parity between its hybrid e-Power models and conventional ICE models by the same date. Parity for EVs will come “eventually”, helped by the introduction of solid-state batteries.
The X-in-1 moniker applies to both Nissan’s e-Power hybrid drivetrains (‘5-in-1’) and EVs (‘3-in-1’). Compared with the original Leaf, integrating the motor and inverter and using direct cooling of electronic components in the inverter has shrunk the package by 25% on current models.
Although e-Power wasn’t launched until 2016, a Leaf-based prototype first ran as early as 2010. Since then, the drivetrains have been steadily improved.
With 3-in-1, the EV motor, inverter and reduction gearbox are combined into one module, making the three components a further 10% more compact. It’s a similar story with the 5-in-1 drives. The latest versions have shrunk by 20% thanks to the same integration but by adding the series-hybrid generator and ‘increas
