Renault’s Australian distributor Ateco says it’s working to make sure performance brand Alpine will come back to our market in time.
Glen Sealey, the boss of Renault Australia, told CarExpert the brand would never have pulled out of the market with the Alpine A110 were it not for the ADR85/00 side impact regulations.
“In terms of the Alpine brand we are certainly in discussions with them but at the end of the day we would still be importing the A110 if the ADR didn’t kill it, it has been performing really well globally, up 33 percent year on year,” he said.
Alpine EV sports car teaser
The A110 was popular among enthusiasts with its rear-wheel drive setup coupled to a turbocharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, producing 215kW of power at 6400rpm and 320Nm of torque at 2000rpm.
Mr Sealey said the success of the car globally goes to show there is still massive demand for the last of the internal-combustion sports cars, but Alpine will likely return to Australia when all-new electric product hits the market in the next few years – 2026 most likely.
“They are working on an all-new product plan and we are very excited by Alpine and think that will work really well in Australia and specially with the timings,” he said.
Alpine GT X-Over
Renault and Geely are likely to partner up for future product, with the French company’s Alpine performance brand reportedly considering using a platform from the latter’s Lotus brand.
As recently as last month, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi told media that a collaboration with Geely signifies the “most natural” fit for its upcoming D-Crossover and E-Crossover models, due in 2027 and 2028.
That would suggest the brand is looking at using the platform of the Lotus Eletre, which will occupy the same segment as the larger of the two Alpine SUVs.
Upcoming Alpine hot hatch
Alpine is already collaborating with Lotus on electric sports cars, with the French brand replacing its current A110 with an EV model in 2026. Parents Renault and Geely also recently established a 50/50 partnership to build internal-combustion engines.
The brand will cease sales of combustion-powered vehicles from 2026 and aims to have a full lineup of zero-emissions vehicles by 2030.
It has previously teased its next-generation A110, along with a mid-sized SUV called the GT X-Over and an electric hot hatch based on the Renault 5.
