It has been a little more than three years since the BMW group acquired the rights to the Alpina brand. Since then, messages have been relatively tight, although we heard of a plan to make the brand lifted. There is a reason why that hasn’t happened yet. The already existing agreement will take place on December 31, 2025, so that the new strategy will only be effective next year.
But why is Alpina primarily under the BMW group’s corporate center? In a new interview about the Motoman TV PodcastCEO Andreas Bovensiepen explained how the deal was created. The son of the late company founder, Burkard Bovensiepen, announced that BMW was the first to approach Alpina about a potential connection.
BMW argued that for small manufacturers such as Alpina it would be increasingly difficult to make stricter regulations, since plug-in hybrids and EVS are expensive for the engineer. Since the electrification is of crucial importance for the achievement of the fleet emissions destinations, Alpina’s focus on large Grand tourers would have made particularly challenging.
The situation is even more difficult because exceptions for small manufacturers are no longer as forgiving as before. Andreas noticed that this applies in particular to in Europe, where the EU enforces some of the world’s strictest emissions standards. A typical example of the planned ban on new combustion engine car 2035 remains. However, it will be checked before the end of this year, so that the internal combustion engine may live after the middle of the next decade.
Even if the EU makes its attitude softer, Alpina could no longer sell with pure inline-six and V8 models. Without plug-in hybrids or EVS in its line-up to compensate for emissions, the company would be exposed to high fines to exceed the CO2 boundaries. The regulatory debate is particularly interesting because Andreas admitted in July 2021 that “customers currently have no demand for battery -electric models”.
In the recent interview, he repeated that BMW did not buy the company technically. Instead, only the right to use the Alpina brand. As stated in the original press release three years ago, “no shares of the company are acquired”. The two companies will continue to work together, whereby Alpina offers engineering and development services for the BMW group.
In the meantime, the Bovesiepen family renamed the business under their own name and even started a new car. At the beginning of this year it is an M4 convertible that was transformed into a coupé by Zagato and is a double roof. Production is planned in limited figures in the mid -2026 with an estimated price between € 400,000 and € 500.
Video: Motomantv Podcast
