Why Alpina sold brand name to BMW

Why the decision to sell the Alpina brand to BMW?

“The automotive world that we have known for so long has changed dramatically in recent years. The dieselgate emissions scandal has caused car manufacturers to lose a lot of credit, while politicians have used the event to push the electrification of the vehicle fleet. The current Alpina range relies solely on six-in-line engines and V8s, with diesel continuing to play an important role. Our cars are everyday dream cars that are used as such and cover an average of between 30,000 and 50,000 km per year, often at higher speeds. That is becoming less and less in line with the requirements imposed on us from above.”

Aren’t those requirements the same for all brands, including BMW that supplies the basic technology to Alpina?

“That’s right, but you cannot compare the multinational BMW with the family business Alpina. Our resources are relatively limited, while the penalties for mistakes or errors in emissions tests and driver assistance systems are the same. In addition, the unpredictability of the market affects us in combination with the current supply problems. Since the pandemic, we have had to order Alpina-specific parts twelve to fifteen months in advance, which poses a financial risk if the affected cars have not yet been sold. Not to mention the investments needed in fields such as IT and software development to enable the latest BMW systems to communicate with our components. So the complexity grows with the uncertainty.”

Basing Alpina models on greener and smaller BMW engines is not an option?

“That would only work for us in China. BMW offers there, for example, a 720i that would certainly be successful as Alpina, but then the uncertainty plays up again. After all, we all know that the People’s Republic is fully committed to EVs, which could quickly make electrified petrol engines disappear from the radar. The PHEV is also under attack in Germany and the autobahn speed limit of 130 km/h is back on the table, while a luxury tax on large motorcycles may be on the way. Also, don’t forget that our capacity in Buchloe has reached its limits. We already make more than 2,000 cars with approximately 300 employees and have exhausted our expansion capabilities. With such limited production you can’t make money with small cars, and certainly not with the Euro 7 emission standards in the offing.”

Diesel block from Alpina in a BMW 4-series

What will happen in the run-up to 2026 and beyond?

“Our current range, including the new B4/D4 Gran Coupé and the LCI versions of the 3 Series, XB7 and 8 Series, will remain in production until the end of 2025. If all goes well, we will build another 5,000 real Alpinas over the next three and a half years. After that, we transfer our name to BMW, but not our production facilities. Although BMW came to us with the request to buy the Alpina name, they obviously have nothing to do with a small-scale factory near Munich. Moreover, in addition to our car business, we also have a successful wine business. Our father, Burkhard Bovensiepen, started buying good quality wines during his racing career in the 1970s. Just like a hobby that got out of hand. We currently preserve approximately one million bottles of the best wineries and vintages in special facilities, intended for distribution in the top gastronomy. We will therefore certainly continue that part of our activities.”

Alpina XB7

We can hardly imagine that the Bovensiepen family will no longer do anything with cars.

“You estimated that correctly. The agreement with BMW states that we may continue to use our brand name in the combination ‘Alpina Classic’. So we will be using our production facilities to produce parts for the Alpinas built between 1965 and 2025. Think of Alpina wheels, brake parts, suspension elements, aerodynamic parts, interior decoration and the like. The entire package is distributed via our dealers, but also centralized in a web shop, as there is an increasing international demand. In addition, Alpina Engineering will continue to support the BMW Group in tire development, chassis setups and ESP systems as it has been doing for years.”

The BMW press release states that the Bovensiepen family name will gain in importance. How about that?

“At the moment, that is still something of the future, but we are already thinking about it. It is certain that we will finally have time and space for maintenance and restoration of classic Alpinas. After all, we have all the competences for this and soon also the parts in-house. We therefore want to receive enthusiasts again in Buchloe, to showcase the history of our brand and to exhibit the greatest hits from our catalog in a kind of Alpina Classic World. At the same time, we also want to work on the community aspect with events, track days and maybe even historic motorsports. In the event that all of this should eventually lead to new ideas or even car models, then we have a suitable name ready with Bovensiepen.”

Finally, what do you hope BMW will do with the Alpina brand?

“It’s not up to us to say what BMW should do with Alpina, but I suspect we can think of the luxury realms. My father as brand founder, my brother as co-CEO and myself would be especially happy if Alpina’s brand awareness continues to grow. Today we sell our cars in Europe, England, USA and Canada and in Japan. That leaves a lot of potential for expansion, for example to a country like South Africa, which has a long tradition with BMW. How nice would it be to be able to say in twenty years that Alpina has really become a global brand, while it started as a family business in a small Bavarian village? In any case, Alpina Classic would benefit from it, which would make us doubly happy as a founding family.”