On March 10th, 2022, BMW Group announced in Munich the official inclusion of ALPINA into its fold. The long-term cooperation agreement between BMW and ALPINA has been extended until December 31st, 2025. Both parties have indicated that they will not disclose any financial details, and the transaction does not involve any changes in company shareholdings.
“The automotive industry is currently undergoing a profound transformation towards sustainable mobility. Therefore, existing business models need to be regularly reassessed. For more than fifty years, ALPINA has demonstrated how to provide top-quality automobile brands by focusing on details. BMW Group is also driven by the same passion and enthusiasm for cars that can inspire imagination. That’s why we are now opening a new chapter in our long-standing partnership. Acquiring the trademark rights will enable us to shape the long-term development direction of this traditional brand. We are pleased to welcome the ALPINA brand into BMW.” – Jens Thiemer, BMW Group’s Senior Vice President of Customer and Brand.
Globally, manufacturers with relatively small production volumes are facing greater risks due to increasingly stringent regulatory requirements for emissions, software verification, driver assistance, and monitoring systems. ALPINA is avoiding this issue through strategic adjustments to ensure the long-term viability of its business. ALPINA has not chosen to be fully dependent on BMW Group, but rather to cooperate on the basis of mutual trust.
“We have long recognized the challenges facing the automotive industry and are now setting the right direction for ALPINA and our family business, BOVENSIEPEN. This marks the beginning of a new chapter. The ALPINA brand and our company are both very popular. We deliberately decided not to sell ALPINA to any other manufacturer because BMW and ALPINA have been working together and trusting each other for decades. That’s why having BMW Group manage the ALPINA brand in the future is the right strategic decision.” – Pieter Nota, Head of Brand and Consumer Marketing at BOVENSIEPEN.The cooperation between BMW and ALPINA will introduce a new form: ALPINA will make modifications to the engine, transmission, chassis, aerodynamics, and even interior design of BMW vehicles directly on the production line. This also gives ALPINA more flexible design space.
In addition, ALPINA’s after-sales service, parts, and accessory business will still continue in the long term, and existing after-sales cooperation will not be affected. As part of this strategic cooperation between the two companies, ALPINE will further expand the existing BMW vehicle development and service business.
Electrification allows people to have high-performance vehicles at a relatively low price. Even larger OEMs face the dilemma of the future survival of their own performance series. For established third-party car modification companies, positioning their business as a limited and high-margin segment within the OEM’s product line may be a choice that can create a win-win situation.
ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Buchloe, officially established on January 1, 1965. ALPINA has been active in BMW modification and racing since the 1960s and started manufacturing passenger cars based on BMW products in 1978. In 1983, ALPINA was registered as an official automobile manufacturer at the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg, with about 300 employees and produced about 2,000 cars in 2021. In addition to Germany and Europe, Japan, the United States, and the Middle East are also important markets for ALPINA. Another major business area of this family business is ALPINA wine.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.