BMW takes over Alpina!

Alpina loses its independence: The brand was officially founded on January 1, 1965, by Burkard Bovensiepen, who was born in 1936. He is still involved in the company today, with his sons Andreas and Florian now also part of the management team. Background on the brand name: Burkard Bovensiepen's father ran a production facility for office machines under the name Alpina.

The basis for Alpina models were BMW models with altered chassis, brakes, interiors, and, of course, refined or enhanced BMW engines. The assembly of Alpina models has long taken place in the BMW factory itself: the Allgäu company delivered their components there. The family business in Buchloe currently employs around 300 workers and delivered around 2,000 cars in 2021. Due to the transformation to electric mobility and increasing regulatory requirements, the risks for small-series manufacturers are increasing. Therefore, the Bovensiepen family, who also founded a wine trade, probably decided to sell. BMW's Sales Director Pieter Nota explained:

“By acquiring the trademark rights, we will shape the long-term future of this traditional brand in a forward-looking manner.”

It was agreed to keep silent about the financial modalities. Company shares would not be acquired. The family business, led by Andreas Bovensiepen, retains the maintenance and spare parts business for current and classic BMW-Alpina cars. 2021 was the most successful year in the history of Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG. According to its own statements, the family business will “proactively realign from a position of strength to respond to legal challenges and technological change in the industry. This is intended to secure the Buchloe site in the long term.”

“We will continue our father's life’s work and invest in the equally well-known name Bovensiepen. With our expertise and high standards of quality, we will bring other compelling mobile offerings to market in the future,” explains Managing Director Florian Bovensiepen:

“Without our creative, capable, and loyal employees, we would not have been able to write this success story with Alpina. We harness the power of our house, our team, and our families to make this reorientation at the right time. At the same time, we commit ourselves with the BMW Group to our social responsibility towards our workforce and will do our best to mitigate any potential impacts of this reorganization.”

The sale of the brand rights to BMW and the associated discontinuation of today's Alpina vehicle program at the end of 2025 will impact the existing jobs at the Buchloe location. BMW will support the brand in the coming years in connection with the necessary adjustment of jobs at the Buchloe site. By the end of 2025, BMW, in consultation with Alpina, will offer some employees, who cannot be retained at the Buchloe location, a new job within the BMW Group and also help to facilitate new employment relationships with suppliers or development partners.

What does this mean?

It will be interesting to see how the Bovensiepen family will orient themselves in the future. The assembly of the models was in any case done at BMW - nevertheless, anything can happen with Alpina from 2025 onwards: The spectrum ranges from the discontinuation of the brand to new, purely electric models. Either way, the decision is highly emotional not only for fans and came unexpectedly. After the former house tuner Schnitzer, who was only active in motorsports for BMW and was no longer supported by BMW recently, Alpina might also disappear.