Photo: Alpine
Renault-owned sportscar brand Alpine will look to further establish its presence in Europe first, before expanding its global operations, according to company chief executive Laurent Rossi.
During an interview with Reuters, Rossi stated that Alpine will certainly not rule out an eventual presence in Asia and the Americas, although there are no such plans at the moment. Renault, meanwhile, is also absent from the U.S. market following two previous failed attempts.
However, the French carmaker does have a strong presence in Latin America, while the Alpine F1 team is gaining popularity in the U.S. thanks to Formula One as a whole, as well as the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
Currently, Alpine is only selling the A110 sports car, but come 2024, three new sporty electric cars will begin rolling out (unfortunately we don’t have an exact timetable). Rossi added that increasing sales in Europe was an immediate priority, with the carmaker having sold just 1,200 cars in the first half of this year, mostly in France, Britain and Germany.
“The U.S. is 50% of the sportscar market. The Renault Group is not in the U.S. for good reasons. It exited the U.S. twice. We need to make sure that if we make a return, it’s a successful one,” stated the Alpine CEO when asked about the possibility of returning to the home of Hellcats, Demons and cobra-badged Mustangs.
“We would probably err on the side of caution because you can’t really mess up a third time. And the Alpine brand is in a rebirth, so we have a lot of things to accomplish first, to establish it as a solid, graduated brand in Europe.”
One way Alpine could go about doing that is by using the Renault Group’s dealer network throughout Europe in order to drive growth, while also focusing on making its next generation of cars more desirable for the masses.
However, the French carmaker does have a strong presence in Latin America, while the Alpine F1 team is gaining popularity in the U.S. thanks to Formula One as a whole, as well as the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
Currently, Alpine is only selling the A110 sports car, but come 2024, three new sporty electric cars will begin rolling out (unfortunately we don’t have an exact timetable). Rossi added that increasing sales in Europe was an immediate priority, with the carmaker having sold just 1,200 cars in the first half of this year, mostly in France, Britain and Germany.
“The U.S. is 50% of the sportscar market. The Renault Group is not in the U.S. for good reasons. It exited the U.S. twice. We need to make sure that if we make a return, it’s a successful one,” stated the Alpine CEO when asked about the possibility of returning to the home of Hellcats, Demons and cobra-badged Mustangs.
“We would probably err on the side of caution because you can’t really mess up a third time. And the Alpine brand is in a rebirth, so we have a lot of things to accomplish first, to establish it as a solid, graduated brand in Europe.”
One way Alpine could go about doing that is by using the Renault Group’s dealer network throughout Europe in order to drive growth, while also focusing on making its next generation of cars more desirable for the masses.
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