Alpine has an idea of survival. For a brand to maintain the passion for motorsport in a berlinetta, the A110, on the way to going electric, it will be necessary to be able to be profitable and sell a large number of cars. For this, the subsidiary of the Renault group, headed by Laurent Rossi, is considering setting out to conquer the United States. The goal will not be to bet on a small electric coupé, but rather on SUVs.
The strategy is inspired by what Porsche does to continue to offer sports cars such as 911. The German marque, which recently went public with flying colors, relies on solid sales volumes, supported for years by its range of SUVs, the Macan and Cayenne. The French brand, born in 1954, continues its project to launch an SUV and says to itself that today the growth can go through the American market.
There will be no talk of returning to thermal models, Alpine aims to become the group’s 100% sporty electric brand, and Renault recently shut down Sport. To accelerate development with its new engine, the group has signed an agreement with Lotus Cars, another sports brand that has also switched to electric. It has taken the lead by already launching an SUV, named Eletre.
Alpine’s calendar until 2028
In 2022, Alpine sold 3,500 copies of its A110. The presentation of its E-Ternity concept could suggest that a new electric version would be in stores, but Alpine presented its car in July 2022 as a concept and not as a new version in approach.
Regardless of whether it is a development story or not, it is certain that the brand currently needs funds to be able to launch the model into production, and certainly from factories that are not yet available to Alpine today within the Renault group.
The future is very uncertain. For the launch of an electric SUV in the United States, Laurent Rossi declared that it would be necessary to wait at least until 2027 or even 2028. A year in which the calendar of Luca de Meo, General Manager of Renault, also sees the launch of the replacement for the A110 . What will happen in the meantime? For once, the calendar is a little clearer: it would be the launch of the new Renault 5 Alpine, planned for more than 35,000 copies, which will wink at the first generation of the model launched in 1972. .
