Renault and Caterham Group have announced their agreement to join forces in pursuit of jointly developing sports vehicles under the historic Alpine name. According to the companies, these future vehicles will be distinctive, differentiated and carry the respective DNA of Alpine and Caterham Cars. Perhaps most importantly, this new joint venture will guarantee the future of the historic Alpine plant at Dieppe, Normandy, in France.
According to Carlos Tavares, COO of Renault, “Our ambitions of reviving Alpine depended on our ability to find a partner in order to ensure the economic profitability of such an adventure. Right from the start, we wanted to place the Dieppe plant at the heart of the project. Today, through our partnership with Caterham Group, we can enter a new phase—the design of a vehicle that will embody the very essence of Alpine, a vehicle that will rekindle sporting passion once more.”
The Caterham Group will own a 50 percent stake in the Auto-mobiles Alpine Renault company, currently 100 percent held by Renault SAS. The Société des Automobiles Alpine Caterham, which will be resulting from this partnership, shall be created in January 2013 and will be managed by Bernard Ollivier.
