Report: Renault’s Alpine Brand Still Considering United States
When rumors first emerged that Renault’s Alpine brand might be coming to North America, driving enthusiasts seemed excited by the prospect of the mid-engine A110 being available. However, subsequent talk from the automaker has confirmed that the French performance marquee might take a while to get here and had opted to focus entirely on all-electric vehicles.
The company recently showcased its new A290_ß concept (pictured), which is an all-electric hatchback reminiscent of the vintage R5 Turbo if it was based on the modern Renault 5 EV, to give the public a taste of the path Alpine intends on taking with its products. But it’s not the only model it has been working on.
There’s a sporty midsize crossover anticipated to launch in 2025 and, according to MotorTrend, two even larger models that the brand believes might be a good fit for the United States.
"The U.S. is an opportunity we will be looking at," Renault CEO Luca de Meo was quoted as saying during the Future of the Car summit in London, "and if we find an opportunity it will probably be with the Alpine brand."
We suppose Alpine represents a smaller risk than trying to bring back Renault, which has been absent from the market since 1987. There probably aren’t a lot of regular Americans that are all that knowledgeable about Renault. But enthusiasts might be familiar with Alpine from motorsport and are likely to be more willing to shell out extra cash for performance vehicles bordering on exotic.
From MotorTrend:
Significantly, de Meo acknowledges that both the A290_ß, which will launch in Europe in 2024, and the larger EV crossover coming in 2025 are both too small to attract enough buyers in the U.S. "We are looking at bigger cars because we need them to get access to richer markets," he says. These bigger Alpine EVs would be a coupe and an SUV, says de Meo, each roughly the size of a C-Class or E-Class Mercedes-Benz and scheduled to appear in 2027 or 2028.
The smaller electrics may also be underpowered, with inadequate range for the North American landscape. Based on Renault’s single-motor, front-drive CMF-EV electric vehicle architecture, the A290_ß is supposed to make 215 horsepower in its base format. While decent for a small car, it’s going to be carrying a portly battery pack.
While Alpine will undoubtedly seek to address weight, the Renault 5 EV is targeting 250 miles of range when equipped with a 52-kWh battery. Unfortunately, European testing cycles tend to be more generous when determining maximum range than the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency and the automaker has already gone to tremendous lengths to save weight due to how much of the vehicle’s mass is already attributed to the battery.
That likely is going to leave Alpine’s version equipped with the smaller 40-kWh battery if it’s going to try and remain lean. But that’s going to leave it with an unacceptably small operating area for American tastes. Meanwhile, leaving it heavier is going to cut into performance and make customers eyeball combustion models with similar specifications, presumably lower price tags, and higher top speeds.
An Alpine coupe and SUV EVs sized to appeal to American buyers would mean more space for larger batteries and room to attach another motor to the rear axle. That means more power and range. The vehicles are also said to be styled by Alpine’s F1 engineers, offering sublime aerodynamics and some of the most aggressive bodywork you’re likely to see on an EV.
It sounds a little fantastical, especially considering how often companies claim they’ll be coming to our shores and then never quite make it. But MotorTrend says the odds are better than we might imagine, as an influx of Chinese EVs now threatens Renault's traditional mass-market position in Europe. The company sees itself as needing to expand and figures sending premium performance vehicles to North America isn’t the worst idea.
We’ll see how it plays out.
[Images: Renault Group]
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Consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulations. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed about the automotive sector by national broadcasts, participated in a few amateur rallying events, and driven more rental cars than anyone ever should. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and learned to drive by twelve. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer and motorcycles.
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Actually, I think trying to compete with larger cars/SUVs WON'T work. They should bring in something like the A290. I just think the crossover competition is too great, and French and Italian vehicles are not likely to be noticed. Look at the success Alfa has had.....very limited. But there is a small group of enthusiasts that would love a racy hot hatch like the A290. Unfortunately a volume of 20k/year or so wouldn't justify a dealer network, so they would need to innovate on sales and service processes without any dealers.
I'm still waiting for the Alpine GTA or the A310 GT. AMC would have had something very unique and stylish (for the 1990s). But it was a victim of the Chrysler acquisition of AMC