Alpine wants to add two more electric SUVs to its product portfolio and is looking for an EV platform. The two models have their sights set on the Porsche Macan and the Porsche Cayenne as competitors.
Alpine wants to position itself as a purely electric global brand and has already outlined its series strategy up to 2026. Up to this date there is a purely electric sports car as the successor to the A110. This will be joined by an electric compact sports car as an Alpine version of the Renault 5 on the CMF-B-EV platform and an electric crossover in the C-segment (GT X Over) on the CMF-EV platform in the C-segment.
Alpine crossovers weigh 2 tons
But Alpine would like to further expand its model range beyond 2026. The next electric models will also be classified as crossovers and should be "more or less in the Porsche Macan and Cayenne segment," said Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine when presenting the company's results for 2022. The models are more likely to be assigned to the lifestyle branch than to the pure ones sports car. It would be "cars weighing two tons and five meters long," Rossi notes, and he can't help but take a little jab at Ferrari: Ferrari would build such sports cars.
Nevertheless, both crossovers are said to come onto the market with "excellent acceleration" and equally "excellent handling". "Handling is made a little easier with the electrification because you can have a differentiated torque on each wheel," he sums up.
Nissan or Lotus platform?
It is still questionable which platform the two Porsche competitors will build on. Lotus as a platform donor would be an option, even if the collaboration on an electrical replacement for the A110 ended in May 2023. However, Lotus already has an E-SUV at the start with the Eletre (photo show), and there is also a cooperation between Lotus' mother Geely and Renault for the construction of combustion engines. But alliance partner Nissan could also get a chance, since the Japanese offer vehicles from the D and E segments in the USA. Especially on the American market, Alpine wants to score with the two large crossovers. It is still unclear whether models such as the GT X-Over will also roll off the assembly line in Dieppe in northern France from 2024.
Conclusion
Alpine positions itself as an EV brand and expands beyond the boundaries of sports cars. By 2026, the course has already been set with an A110 successor, a sports R5 and a crossover, after which Alpine wants to get even bigger and is launching two crossovers that have the Porsche Macan and Cayenne in mind - both coming in 2027/2028 as five meter long and two tonne models on the market.
