BMW buys Alpina

BMW has acquired the performance Alpina brand, almost 60 years after the Buchloe-based company produced its first upgrade for a production BMW model. The two firms have been closely linked since 1964, when BMW agreed to factory warranties being applied to cars featuring Alpina enhancements. Although known globally for its BMW-based performance models, Alpina has remained an independent company until now. According to BMW, its acquisition of the Alpina brand will eventually enable it to bring “even greater diversity to its own luxury car range”.

The two companies currently have an official cooperation agreement in place, due to expire at the end of 2025. Until then, Alpina will be largely unaffected, continuing to acquire base-model BMW cars from the factory and modifying them mechanically and cosmetically at its own workshops. Alpina models have traditionally sat halfway between standard BMW cars and the company’s ultimate ‘M’ models. Last year was its most successful on record, with over 2000 cars produced for customers in Europe, Japan, the US and the Middle East.