Renault open to Geely investment to bolster Alpine car brand
RENAULT will consider investors including Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to bolster its Alpine sports-car brand in a move that would expand the Chinese automaker’s footprint in Europe.
Alpine’s search for new investors will probably start at the end of next year or in early 2025, the brand’s chief executive officer Philippe Krief said.
“Geely is part of the group and we are looking at things with them,” Krief said in an interview. Still, “the priority for 2024 is to formalise Alpine’s product and industrial plan.”
Inviting in Geely – which already makes Volvo and Lotus cars and owns stakes in Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin – would further strengthen ties between the two groups as Renault attempts a comprehensive overhaul. They’ve agreed to set up a joint combustion engine and hybrid powertrain company and are working together in South Korea.
Any Chinese investment into Alpine, best known for its A110 sports coupe, would be closely monitored by the French government that owns 15 per cent of Renault. Geely’s billionaire owner Li Shufu has ambitions to broaden global sales and most recently started its premium EV Zeekr brand in Europe, alongside Polestar and Lynk . models.
Meanwhile, Alpine is preparing a lineup of seven fully electric models, starting with the A290 city car next year and a crossover vehicle in 2025. Renault CEO Luca de Meo targets over 8 billion euros (S$11.7 billion) in Alpine revenue by the end of this decade – an ambitious goal for a brand that sold just over 3,500 cars last year.
The French brand still is in talks with AutoNation to start sales in the US in 2027 or 2028. Those discussions “will take a bit of time but they are progressing,” said Krief, a former engineering director at Ferrari who took over at Alpine in July.
Alpine is developing its own EV platform, a step seen as key for the brand’s expansion. It will collaborate closely with Renault’s new EV and software entity Ampere.
Krief said he’s considering “various scenarios” to expand Alpine’s manufacturing footprint beyond its Dieppe site in Normandy – including using Renault factories for new models or investing in plants of its own, potentially outside Europe. BLOOMBERG
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
