Alpine Has Delayed Its Planned American Rollout Alpine
Back in 2023, Renault-owned performance brand Alpine announced plans to start selling cars in the United States. Those plans have now been put on hold, however — the latest major shift in the American auto market attributed to President Donald Trump’s recently-implemented tariffs on imports into the U.S.
As first reported by Bloomberg, Renault CFO Duncan Minto issued the update on a recent earnings call. “Considering what’s going on in the U.S. at the moment, I don’t think it’s the right time to spend money” exploring expansion into the U.S. market, he said, according to Autocar. He went on to describe the decision as a “perfectly normal” part of a plan to cut costs as global economic uncertainty looms over the entire automotive industry.
Enthusiasts know Alpine as the brand behind the fantastic A110 sports car and the current incarnation of Renault’s Formula 1 team, but the brand is planning to shift its focus from internal combustion performance cars to a wider range of electric vehicles. This shift has already started, with the end of A110 production and the announcement of a Renault 5-based electric hot hatchback called the A290 coming recently.
The Alpine A290. Alpine
When the brand first hinted at plans to sell cars in America years ago, it planned to spearhead that effort with a pair of electric crossovers that would fit in well with U.S. market trends toward larger cars. Alpine is still developing those bigger cars, but their arrival in America may be delayed until the U.S. tariff situation is at least stable, if not resolved entirely. Until then, Renault’s most interesting offerings will be remain forbidden fruit.
You Might Also Like