Alpine A110 to be axed?

[TWPC]

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/renaul...

The article on Autocar above says that Renault is considering closing the Alpine plant in Dieppe. While they do not say directly that the A110 will be terminated, is it economically sustainable to transfer its production to another plant? The report also states that only 61 A110s were sold in the month of February.

This would be a complete tragedy...

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Max_Torque said:

As we come out of the "Golden age of the car", ween ourselves off our heady, intoxicating but oh-so-polluting hydrocarbon habit, and perhaps even start to move away from pure consumerism, the changes are going to be absolutely enormous. It'll make the loss of our steel works, or the closure of our coal industry seem trivialby comparison...

Agreed: the structural overcapacity of car manufacturing, especially in high cost western Europe, has to come to an end at some point (unfortunately for those of us who love a spectacular range of cars to choose from) but it's going to be very painful.

I'm just sad that an early casualty is inevitably something expensive and low volume (and sweet handling and fast) like the A110. If our choice of cars is being reduced, I'd far rather dream about choosing between three rather than two £50k mid engine 2 seater sports cars. Who cares if my choice of family size SUVs is cut from 40 models to 30...? (and I'm a boring, SUV-owning middle aged father of three.) I understand that is how economics works but sometimes wish it didn't.

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ash73 said:

Owners must be pleased, these cars are going to become very collectable, imo.

Agree that they will be collectable!

Might its story be compared to the TVR Sagaris in future? A great car on sale for only a couple of years skewered for reasons unrelated to the car itself.

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The Hypno-Toad said:

NO!!!!!! You can't do this, my lottery numbers haven't come in yet!! NO!!!!!!

+1

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CABC said:

kambites said:

rockin said:

IMO selling a "sports car" which doesn't offer a convertible and doesn't offer a manual is never going to be easy - whether or not buyers actually specify those things.

I suspect this is true, which is a shame in a way because I think the primary reason the Alpine is so much lighter than the Cayman and so much more user-friendly than the Elise/Exige is that the whole platform was designed on the premise that there would never be a convertible version and hence it didn't need huge heavy bracing or massive sills for rigidity.

both posts absolutely true.

let's also remember that most mx5s are bought for simple open air fun that's a little sporty, often by ladies... all credit to Mazda for continued focus on the fundamental chassis. it's only once they're secondhand that the hardcore drivers get hold of them to add bracing, coilovers etc

that the A110 was such a good car from the off is incredible. that it may die maybe is the canary in the coal mine.
Let's hope the GR86 continues.

Amen to that.

Who'd have thought we would regard Toyota as one of the guardians of the sports car flame having ignored the segment for so long after the demise of the old Supra and MR2?
Fingers crossed the GT86's replacement is a good'un: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/next-t...

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limpsfield said:

The OP who brought this tragedy to the attention of PH drives a Volvo and a Citroen.

That is not meant as a dig.

Car manufacturers don't profit from cars that many admire, but don't actually buy.

Exactly.

Porsche is an exception in that it normally does make some profit on its admirable cars, albeit nothing like the margin on its popular cars,
But... Bugatti, Lambo, Maserati... all manufacturers of admirable cars that survive only because they are part of larger groups selling popular cars.

P.S. The OP intends to buy a fun car when the kids are off his hands but it just ain't feasible now...!

Edited by TWPC on Friday 22 May 11:17

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blueg33 said:

rockin said:

blueg33 said:

a. Weak marketing
b. Wrong badge
c. Marmite looks

a. Feeble excuse
b. Feeble excuse
c. Feeble excuse

I'm with Lexington - if they could have done a cheaper entry model to get punters into the showroom they might have been in with a chance of selling more cars. It's all about that product/price combination.

You are struggling with the nuances between reasons and excuses

Kia stinger, excellent car highly praised in reviews priced well below its competition, poor badge - poor sales

Porsche Cayenne (VW Toureg in a dress) - High prices for average car, but flashy marketing and right badge - enough sales to saves Porsche's proper cars

Surely the reason that the Alpine factory and potentially the A110 are under threat are because of the impact coronavirus is having on the global economy and specifically the structurally weak economics of car manufacturing in western Europe. i.e. There is massive overcapacity resulting in very low profitability and massive capital risk for most of the companies involved. Unfortunately cars are such complex products requiring huge supply chains that the industry employs so many Europeans that governments have felt obliged to intervene for decades now, preventing companies from reducing production capacity.

The potential closure of the Dieppe factory has nothing to do with whether A110 sales volumes will not reach 3,000 units; it's to do with the survival of Renault which, like all car companies, needs to cut costs drastically.

Urged by the French government, senior management will be looking for economies around the whole group. Three years ago the resurrection of Alpine as a halo brand was a good marketing investment which would hopefully pay back its R&D costs but was never going to be a major profit centre for the company. Today, in a coronavirus-ridden global economy when, for example, UK car sales fell 97% last month on April 2019's number and EVs were the two best selling vehicles, a glorious vanity project like Alpine is unjustifiable.

This is my guess for the reason why the Dieppe factory may close. I think it is a huge shame because I like cars and would love there to be more A110s in the world - I believe the principles of lightness and a function-specific chassis design (in the A110's case no convertible, small engine, ideal suspension) show the way forward for sports cars.

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The FT reported that Renault is undertaking a €2bn cost-cutting plan which will result in the loss of 14,600 jobs. No decision yet on the fate of the Dieppe factory:

"Now, as part of its turnround plan, Renault said it was launching discussions with unions to repurpose plants in France, some of which could stop making cars altogether, and which would involve job cuts.

The group has not made final decisions about the future of six sites in France, including at Flins and Dieppe, as it faces both political and union opposition."

https://www.ft.com/content/82f2a4a5-d897-41f1-ad66...

Can't believe they omitted the PH massive from the list of groups opposing any changes at the Alpine factory.