Renault’s Alpine performance brand plans largest electric cars yet, global expansion

Renault-owned French sports-car brand Alpine has detailed its plans to go global – and go electric – with five new models by the end of the decade, including some earmarked for Australian showrooms.

Plans announced in early 2021 would see Alpine – which currently sells one model, the petrol A110 sports coupe – go electric with three new models by 2026: an electric A110 successor, a hot hatch based on the reborn Renault 5 city car, and a small performance SUV.

Overnight, it has added to those plans with two larger electric SUVs: a mid-size to large model for 2027 akin to a Porsche Cayenne or BMW X5, and a full-size flagship for 2028 closer to a Lamborghini Urus, Lotus Eletre or (in dimensions only) a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.

The battery-powered large models appear to contradict Alpine's history of agile, lightweight cars – including the 1100kg petrol A110 – but the company claims it will use "top notch" engineering and torque-vectoring technology to make its cars sporty to drive.

Alpine plans for 50 per cent of its sales to occur outside Europe by 2030 – including possible expansions into North America and China, as well as an expected return to Australia after the current A110 was axed last year due to new safety regulations.

"Alpine is not a dead brand at all, it’s an ongoing brand. It's not being abandoned. We still have a website and that shows we're still committed," Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey told Drive in October.

“We are planning on bringing in the new range of Alpines, once they become available for production ... We would like to think 2025. But there is no guarantee of that."

Plans shown to shareholders and media show Alpine aims to earn €2 billion ($AU3.1 billion) in revenue in 2026, increasing to more than €8 billion ($AU12.4 billion) in 2030.

Alpine does not quote annual vehicle sales targets – however if the average price of its electric vehicles matches the €75,000 ($AU115,000) of an A110 S coupe today, it would equate to about 27,000 global sales in 2026, and more than 105,000 in 2030.

For comparison, Porsche reported about 300,000 vehicles as sold in 2021 – while Lotus plans to sell 100,000 vehicles per year by 2028.

According to Alpine, the city-sized hot hatch – based on the reborn Renault 5 (below), sized similarly to a Renault Clio RS or Ford Fiesta ST, and powered by a 160kW electric motor – will be the first model to launch, due in 2024.

As reported previously, Alpine will replace Renault Sport as the Renault group's performance marque – though the RS brand's final model, the Renault Megane RS hot hatch, won't be directly replaced by an electric car.

The master Renault brand will replace the Megane line-up with the Megane E-Tech Electric, a small battery-powered SUV on the company's dedicated CMF-EV electric-car platform – but it isn't in line for an Alpine version.

Following the hot hatch is planned to be the "C-segment" ASUV in 2025, sized similarly to a Nissan Qashqai or Kia Seltos, but underpinned by an Alpine-tuned version of the CMF-EV chassis (dubbed CMF-EV-S), and expected to offer torque-vectoring all-wheel drive.

The electric Alpine A110 replacement is due in 2026 – though it's unclear if it will be developed in partnership with UK sports-car specialist Lotus, as suggested in 2021 when the companies signed a 'memorandum of understanding' to investigate such a project, along with other ventures.

Due in 2027 is a "D-segment" SUV, similar to a Porsche Cayenne in size – which is planned to be followed in 2028 with an even-larger "E-segment" SUV, similar to a Lamborghini Urus or Lotus Eletre, and likely measuring more than five metres long.

Alpine has referenced "partnering with another leading [electric vehicle] player" for access to the platform needed to underpin the D- and E-segment SUVs.

This may present an opportunity for Lotus, as it too is preparing an electric-vehicle expansion including sedans, coupes and SUVs – and it runs a large Lotus Engineering consultancy, which conducts design and engineering work with other companies in the car industry.

Teaser images released overnight show sleek silhouettes for all three of Alpine's SUVs – with profiles closer to high-riding 'fastback' sedans than bulky 4WDs – while the A110 successor retains the compact shape of the current car.

The city hot hatch looks similar to the Renault 5 it's based on – though it goes without the tall rear wing it has been pictured with in past official teasers.

In the meantime, the petrol-powered Alpine A110 will soldier on until its electric successor arrives – by which time it will be eight to nine years old.

The Alpine-exclusive factory in Dieppe, France that builds today's A110 is "flat out", Renault CEO Luca de Meo told investors overnight – though it will be home to production of the 2025 small SUV, previously referred to as the GT X-Over.