Munich. The BMW Group welcomes a new addition to its
portfolio, as the ALPINA brand becomes part of the company. The BMW
Group will secure the rights to the ALPINA brand – bringing even
greater diversity to its own luxury-car range. BMW AG and ALPINA
Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG have reached an agreement to this
effect that will secure the long-term future of the ALPINA brand as
well as the Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH und Co. KG.
The conclusion of the transaction is still subject to various
suspensive conditions – in particular, approval by the responsible
antitrust authorities. The long-standing cooperation agreement, which
was extended for another five years in late 2020, will expire on 31
Dec. 2025. Both parties have agreed not to disclose any financial
details. No shares in the company will be acquired.
Over half a century, BMW and the small-series manufacturer from
Buchloe, outside of Munich, have forged a close cooperation built on
the highest level of trust. Now, the transformation of the automotive
industry enters a new chapter.
“The automotive industry is in the midst of a far-reaching
transformation towards sustainable mobility. For that reason, existing
business models need to be re-examined on a regular basis. For over
fifty years, the Buchloe firm has demonstrated how to deliver
top-quality car cachet through meticulous attention to detail. The BMW
Group is also driven by this same passion for cars that capture the
imagination. That is why we are now embarking on a new chapter in our
long-standing partnership. Acquiring the trademark rights will allow
us to shape the long-term course of this brand steeped in tradition.
We are delighted to welcome the ALPINA brand to the BMW family,” said
Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management responsible for
Customer, Brands and Sales.
The transformation towards electromobility and increasing regulation
worldwide – particularly emissions legislation, software validation
and requirements for driver assistance and monitoring systems – result
in significantly higher risks for small-series manufacturers. The
management of ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG is addressing
this with a strategic realignment that will secure the long-term
viability of the Buchloe operations.
Andreas Bovensiepen, co-managing director of ALPINA Burkard
Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG, explains: “We recognised the challenges
facing the automotive industry early on and are now setting the right
course for ALPINA and for our family firm, BOVENSIEPEN. This marks the
beginning of a new chapter. Both the ALPINA brand and our company are
extremely desirable. We made a conscious decision not to sell ALPINA
to just any manufacturer, because BMW and ALPINA have worked together
and trusted one another for decades. That is why it is the right
decision strategically for the ALPINA brand to be managed by the BMW
Group in the future.”
The cooperation will continue – but in a different form: The company
owned by the Bovensiepen family will continue to use its engineering
expertise in developing, manufacturing, and selling BMW ALPINA
vehicles within the existing cooperation until the end of 2025. This
results in base BMW cars receiving extensive modification by the
ALPINA team – including the engine and transmission, as well as the
chassis, aerodynamics, and interior equipment. BMW ALPINA vehicles are
pre-assembled on BMW production lines before final assembly of the
vehicles taking place in workshops in Buchloe, also comprising
individual interiors built to customer specifications.
The service, parts and accessories business for the existing and
legacy BMW ALPINA vehicle portfolio will continue at the Buchloe
location in the long term. There will be no changes to the existing
aftersales cooperation. As part of a strategic cooperation between the
two companies, there will be a further expansion of the existing
development services business for BMW out of Buchloe. The wine
business that also forms part of the family firm will be unaffected.
“BMW and ALPINA are a perfect fit! The ALPINA brand has matured
alongside BMW over the past 50 years and has everything it takes to
make the heart of an automotive connoisseur beat faster all over the
world. It finds the right balance between cultivated sportiness,
luxury, and exclusivity. We are delighted to acquire the trademark
rights to ALPINA and add new vehicle capturing DNA to the BMW
portfolio,” said Jens Thiemer, Senior Vice President Customer and
Brand BMW.
2021 was the most successful year in the history of ALPINA Burkard
Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG. Building on this strong foundation, the
family business will strategically realign going forwards in order to
address regulatory challenges and technological change in the
industry. This will secure the location of Buchloe for the long term.
“We will continue our father’s life’s work and invest in the equally
well-known name of BOVENSIEPEN. With our expertise and high standards
of quality, we will bring other convincing mobile offerings to the
market in the future,” explains co-managing director Florian
Bovensiepen: “Without our creative, highly capable, and loyal
employees, ALPINA’s success story would not have been possible. We are
relying on the strength of our company, our team, and our families to
pivot at the right time. At the same time, we acknowledge, with the
BMW Group, our social responsibility towards our workforce and will do
our best to cushion the potential impact resulting from this reorganisation.”
The sale of trademark rights to BMW and the resulting discontinuation
of the current ALPINA vehicle programme at the end of 2025 will have
implications for existing jobs at the Buchloe site. BMW will support
ALPINA with the necessary adjustments to the workforce at the Buchloe
location over the coming years. Up until the end of 2025, BMW will
work with ALPINA to offer those employees who will not be able to
continue working at the Buchloe site a new position with the BMW Group
and also help them find new jobs with suppliers and development partners.
ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG, a German vehicle
manufacturer based in Buchloe, was officially founded on 1 January
1965. ALPINA was active in BMW tuning and motorsports from the 1960s
onwards and began manufacturing passenger cars based on BMW AG
products in 1978. Since 1983, the company based in Buchloe in the
Ostallgäu district of Bavaria has been registered as an official
automotive manufacturer with the German Federal Motor Transport
Authority in Flensburg and employs around 300 people. Around 2,000
vehicles were produced in Buchloe in 2021. In addition to Germany and
Europe, Japan, the US, and the Middle East are also important markets
for ALPINA. The family company’s second main area of activity is the
ALPINA wine business.
If you have any questions, please contact:
BMW Group Corporate Communications
Jörg Kottmeier, Communications Corporate
Telephone: +49-89-382-23401
Email: joerg.kottmeier@bmw.de
Eckhard Wannieck, Head of Communications Corporate, Finance, Sales
Telephone: +49 89 382-24544
E-mail: Eckhard.Wannieck@bmwgroup.com
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
E-mail: presse@bmwgroup.com
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly
facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.
In 2021, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and
more than 194,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2021 was € 16.1 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 111.2 billion. As of 31 December 2021, the BMW Group had a workforce
of 118,909 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the
future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and
efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from
the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.
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