The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance will announce this week that it's planning to increase its investment in electric cars threefold by jointly developing a number of EVs. As the world pivots to electromobility, traditional carmakers are under severe pressure to shift toward battery-powered vehicles. Through this investment, the three brands are looking to increase their presence in the EV sphere.

The alliance is planning to invest more than €20 billion ($23 billion) over the next few years, according to those close to the matter. By the end of the decade, over 30 new electric vehicles are expected, all underpinned by five shared platforms. The alliance has already spent a substantial €10 billion on furthering electrification ventures.

Sources revealed to Reuters that the five platforms, shared across the three brands, are likely to cover 90% of all the electric vehicles expected to launch by 2030. Four of the common platforms have already been developed and deployed, with one underpinning the imminent Nissan Ariya and the all-electric Renault Megane.

Another will be used for cheaper vehicles from Nissan and China's Dongfeng, as well as for Dacia, a Romanian brand owned by Renault. The last two platforms will form the basis for Japanese kei cars (most likely built by Nissan) as well as small commercial vehicles. The fifth and final platform will arrive by the middle of the decade, used as a foundation for compact Renault electric cars. Called CMFB-EV, the platform has reportedly been put to use in the development of the upcoming Nissan Micra EV, which is set to arrive in 2025.

The benefits of platform sharing are well-documented; brands have been doing this for decades in order to reduce costs and offer consumers more choice. However, the alliance aims to reduce costs and create small and affordable EVs that are as affordable as their gas and diesel-powered equivalents. Aside from the shared platforms, the sharing of batteries will also halve production costs. The trio of carmakers plans to share Nissan's solid-state lithium-ion battery technology.

Late last year, Nissan announced it will spend $18 billion over the next five years, to hasten electrification. Including a host of hybrid models, the brand is setting out to launch 23 electrified vehicles by 2030. Renault, however, has chosen to transition to fully electric in Europe by 2030, with company officials telling the news agency that the ambitious goal does not apply to markets other than Europe or its Dacia brand, which produces the electric Spring pictured below.

While the US is likely to play host to Nissan and Mitsubishi's upcoming electric vehicles, the chances of getting Renault's quirky and cool alternatives is highly unlikely. If the Boulogne-Billancourt-based brand had to make a comeback, we'd hope it would be with the incredibly styled Renault 5 prototype.