Renault's Alpine Factory May Close For Good As Part Of Cost-Cutting Measures
Following a report which suggested the Nissan 370Z and GT-R could become casualties of cost-cutting measures, it’s emerged that a savings programme at partner company Renault could claim another sports car.
The Financial Times reports that Renault will reveal a €2 billion package of cuts later this month, which could involve the closure of three closures in France. One of those in the firing line is the French company’s Dieppe plant, former home to Renault Sport and now the production site for the Alpine A110.
The A110 sold well in Europe last year, but demand in 2020 dropped significantly, even before the fallout of Covid-19 started hammering car sales. It’s also not available in the USA, hampering commercial viability.
As a vehicle that could be considered the best sports car you can buy right now, it’d be a huge shame to lose the A110 and the more powerful A110 S. It’d be a pity too for the facility to go - it can be traced back to 1969 when it was built to produce the original A110. In 2017, it was given a €35 million overhaul in preparation for production of the all-new version.
The nature of the cost-cutting measures, first revealed by French publication Le Canard Enchaîné, have not yet been finalised. Planning for the three-year programme is said to have begun before the Coronavirus crisis hit Renault’s profits. The company is also reportedly closing in on a €5 billion loan which will be backed by the French government.
When contacted by Car Throttle, Renault’s UK press office referred to the factory closure story as “speculative,” and would not comment on the matter.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
wtf are Renault-Nissan thinking. There are at least 3 crossovers in each line-up that I can think of that can just be replaced with one. I get that spinning 5 crossovers off the same platform is cheaper and more profitable than 1 sports car but goddamn
They’re thinking; the crossovers sell well, the Alpines are expensive cars that are not meant for a family and are ultimately a burden, so we’ll get rid of the line-up we can’t sell easily, and survive off those that we can survive off.
I work for Renault in the R&D department. The Dieppe’s plant is supposed to close since… 1990. It’s always a card and they will never close it. Maybe an other plant but not Dieppe
Didn’t it briefly closed down between the production of the a610 and the production of the Spyder ?
Quick escalation
Im really wondering what companies gonna do if the SUV thing will burn out
Us americans could save it but i guess they dont want us to
Sorry but that’s not going to happen because this time French financial help comes with the condition that no french factory closes. If they are going to close factories, it will have to be elsewhere.
Noooo, the Alpine is one of the very few awesome cars still left today…