Groupe Renault is always developing more external collaborations for joint innovation with partners and offering new services and new transportation solutions to customers. According to this company, innovation is everyone’s job. The car of the future will emerge from a process that combines creativity, external collaborations and synergies from Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. A new approach designed to keep up with the emergence of new technology, new forms of mobility and new customer uses.
Today, this open innovation also includes startups, which are often at the cutting edge of new ways to develop and foster innovation. In 2011, Renault Group established its foothold in Silicon Valley, to take advantage of the diverse ecosystem (consisting of universities, start-ups and large corporations).
This innovation center is tasked with utilizing the opportunities and skills available in the region, focusing on the three areas of electric vehicles and their ecosystems, in-car comfort and new services.
Being able to work differently through technologies and considering new scenarios means giving ourselves the tools to explore new horizons.
After gaining a foothold in Silicon Valley, Groupe Renault created two new innovation labs.
The first is in Tel Aviv, Israel, which aims to promote electric vehicles and foster creativity with a focus on future mobility. Representing the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, the center is fully focused on open innovation. Its activities also include sensors, cyber security, connectivity, data and artificial intelligence.
It is the second innovation center in Shanghai, China, which focuses on the research and development of autonomous driving, intelligent connected vehicles and electric vehicles.
Alliance Ventures
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi have launched Alliance Ventures, a venture capital fund that plans to invest up to $1 billion over the next five years to support open innovation. In the first year, it plans to prioritize new mobility with an initial investment of 200 million dollars.
- This new entity will be a major partner for startups and investors and a key player in the venture capital ecosystem. The fund prioritizes open innovation in the field of new mobility, including electric vehicles, self-driving systems, connectivity and artificial intelligence.
Toyota is one of the big car companies that created the innovation research center “Toyota Research Institute” and works in the fields of artificial intelligence.
Volkswagen has an innovation center called “Volkswagen Group Future Center” in California, which works in the field of designing and developing future cars. The Ford company has created an open innovation center called “Ford Smart Mobility” that works in the field of conventional and technology-based transportation.
Innovation comes from being open to the world and creative inspiration comes from unexpected places! BMW has created an innovation center called BMW Group Technology Office USA in Silicon Valley to develop technologies related to artificial intelligence and Internet-connected cars.
General Motors has a division of its company called “GM Ventures” focused on creating and supporting innovative startups.
