Renault-Nissan Alliance Will Open Research Office in Silicon Valley

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has just announced it will open a research office later this month in the heart of Silicon Valley. The move is part of its renewed interest in vehicle IT, advanced engineering research, and technology recruitment.

The offices in Mountain View are located directly across from the Google campus and minutes from leading hardware and software companies. They will allow one of the world’s largest automotive groups to capitalize on the region’s recognized engineering talent and stay ahead of trends regarding how people interact with their cars.

The office will build staff organically to focus on specific projects and business developments as they emerge. Small, highly efficient teams will initially work on vehicle IT development, advanced engineering research and technology recruitment.

Renault’s Silicon Valley work will focus on research and advanced engineering, in particular electric vehicles and their supplier and infrastructure ecosystem, on-Board services and business development. Nissan will use the Silicon Valley office to focus on vehicle IT research, including graphical user-interface displays, in-car Internet connectivity and smart-grid research.

“The Alliance is at the vanguard of the auto industry’s shift to sustainable transportation. Having a greater footprint in one of the world’s headquarters for clean tech research will extend our lead further,” said Carlos Ghosn, CEO and Chairman of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, who is giving a talk at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) today.

The exec’s “Clean Cars” presentation at Stanford will focus on how and why zero-emission technologies is leading to unprecedented opportunities in the auto industry and economy.