Alpine Set To Crack America With Two New Cars

Nov. 09, 2022 5:42 PM ET by Chase Bierenkoven Industry News / 1 Comment

There's hope for A110s and other new vehicles in America.

Alpine continues to size up the competition after the debut of its Porsche Cayman-fighting A110R.

The brand is reportedly working on two new cars to rival EVs like the Porsche Taycan and Lotus Eletre in an attempt to expand outside of Europe - specifically to North America and China, the world's biggest automotive markets. That's good news for American Alpine fans.

Autocar reports that Alpine, set to be fully electric by 2026, will build a Renault 5-based hot hatch, a sporty crossover, and a new A110 by then. Once that's done, two new cars will launch in Europe's D and E segments.

Over in Europe, these are loose classifications for cars. For example, the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes E-Class both sit in the E Segment. The D segment is for smaller luxury cars and sedans like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. However, note these don't necessarily have direct translations to the American market.

Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo says that Alpine needs these two larger and more luxurious sports cars to capture market share outside Europe. He's right, and nothing captures the attention of the American auto buyer like another larger, more expensive luxury SUV.

Snide jests aside, models fitting that description have helped European marques capture attention abroad.

It's a tried and proven business strategy. Just look at BMW with the X3 and X5. Autocar reports that new markets will make up roughly half Alpine's growth by 2030. Alpine estimates around 15% of its sales will come from abroad by 2030.

But the French have some work to do before then. The brand's facility in Dieppe, France, still needs to be configured to build its upcoming GT X-Over SUV by 2025, and it's not yet confirmed whether Alpine itself will produce the D and E segment cars.

It's believed those two will use some variation of Renault's CMF-EV architecture, the same one that sits under the Nissan Ariya we get here. Of course, Alpine will try its hardest to add sporty touches and weight-saving measures to the SUV, as the French brand is known for that.

For those in America, the strategy looks a lot like what Lotus is currently working to accomplish here. Both brands will push heavily into crossovers, SUVs, electric sports cars, and global expansion.

On top of that, Lotus and Alpine will work together on new chassis componentry. It's unclear how much of this the American audience will benefit from, but we're hoping for at least a few A110s here before they go electric.

Source Credits: Autocar

Alpine Set To Crack America With Two New Cars

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