Alpine under pressure to switch to EVs

Alpine is set to swap petrol for pure-electric power following an intensive review by parent company Renault, says a new report.

According to Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, the move to electrification in the near future is part of a strategy to "add value" to the French car-making group.

Poor sales and the high cost of development of its first car in its modern history, the Alpine A110, has put the reborn sports car-maker under the spotlight as Renault attempts slash €2 billion ($A3.5b) from its overheads.

“Clearly, Alpine is a beautiful brand and we do have to look very, very seriously at the future of this brand to see how it can bring added value to the group,” Senard told

With rumours that Alpine's Dieppe manufacturing is at risk of closing, which would have the knock-on effect of killing off the A110, Senard said it was "quite obvious that we cannot continue as we are doing today.

"This [Dieppe] plant does not manufacture enough vehicles for us to discuss its future serenely. We will look to continue to add value to the Dieppe plant."

Senard added a final decision on Alpine's fate will be made by new Renault chief executive Luca de Meo when he arrives in the role this July.

Sources close to the French car-maker suggest that instead of dropping Alpine altogether, a business case will be made to transition the sports car firm to an electric-only performance halo brand.

The reasoning behind turning Alpine into a zero-emission brand is it will help the Renault Group showcase the sportiness of its new electric tech, helping it potentially compete with more expensive premium rivals.

Unfortunately for fans of the Alpine A110 and the factory workers in Dieppe, a move to EV is unlikely to give much comfort.

Despite a hefty $A60m investment in Alpine's manufacturing HQ, the production line is not equipped to build pure-electric vehicles, meaning yet more investment will be needed or, more likely, Renault will build its battery-powered Alpines elsewhere and shut the costly plant.

Adding credibility to the rumours that Alpine is about to switch to electric, Renault Group design boss Laurens van den Acker recently told the Brit magazine: "It's inevitable that we'll electrify Alpine.

"We’re not only doing it because of the regulations. People’s expectations will shift and will push us into this direction."