Groupe Renault CEO Luca de Meo remains committed to his plan to develop Alpine into an all-electric brand – but is being cautious, due to his experience in separating Cupra from Seat.
De Meo joined Renault in January 2020, after four years at the helm of Seat. In 2018, he confirmed his intention to make Cupra a standalone brand, starting with a hot version of the Seat Ateca, before launching the bespoke Cupra Leon and Cupra Formentor.
Comparing this experience with her plans for Alpine, de Meo was quick to downplay suggestions that she would become a “premium” brand.
He said: “I don’t like to use the word premium at Renault, because I work for a premium brand, and I know how difficult it is to create a premium brand from scratch.
“It’s not just about making good cars, it’s about everything: technology, distribution, reputation in different segments, residuals, etc.”
Alpine’s plans to become an electric vehicle brand were confirmed last year, and this week Renault officially retired the Renault Sport moniker, pledging to use the Alpine name for future performance versions of its. volume cars.
However, precise plans for a product rollout have yet to be confirmed, beyond a recently confirmed partnership between Lotus and Alpine to develop a successor to the revered Alpine A110 coupe.
“Alpine is a brand we want to invest in,” said de Meo. “We put Formula 1 in the middle of the project because it gives that credibility, but it’s also a brand that can claim a price premium on a technical basis.
“We will transform Alpine into a purely electric brand to demonstrate that emotional electric cars are possible. And if you are able to make emotional cars then people are normally willing to pay. This is the idea.
“We will use the platforms that we have in-house, because we can achieve an adequate level of performance for a certain level of credibility. And when we don’t have a platform, we could work on partnerships like the one we have with Lotus for the successor to the A110.
“I believe in the project. I define it as a mix between a mini Ferrari and a mini Tesla. Let’s see if we can make it happen.”
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-11 12:03:41
