French automaker Alpine has launched its first EV model called the A290. This addition to Alpine’s small but sporty portfolio kicks off a lineup of BEVs to follow and comes equipped with some exciting features, including bidirectional charging capabilities, in-cockpit driving tutorials, and video game-like challenges you can complete.
Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, more commonly referred to as Alpine is a French automaker founded in the mid-1950s that specializes in compact motorsport vehicles. It currently operates as a subsidiary of France’s Renault Group and has collaborating with the OEM since the 1970s.
Renault helped revive the Alpine brand’s passenger vehicle arm in the early 2010s, helping develop a new model called the A110, which has been on sale in Europe since 2017. Looking ahead, Renault said it was working with Lotus Technology to develop a new EV sports coupe for the Alpine brand, but by 2023, those plans had been nixed.
Alpine’s CEO has previously promised two new “Porsche-like” EV models it intends to bring to the US – a market seen as a crucial one to enter for success. By the fall of 2023, Renault was seeking fresh suitors to invest in a reinvention of Alpine for the EV age, and was in talks with Geely out of China.
Before then, however, Alpine will begin selling its first EV model, which has taken much of its design DNA from the A110—and it’s called the A290 – based on a show car of the same name presented to the public in 2023.
