The BMW Group is growing - the ALPINA brand becomes part of the company. The BMW Group secures the rights to the ALPINA brand and creates even more automotive diversity in its own luxury segment. BMW AG and ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co KG have agreed on this. This secures the long-term future of the ALPINA brand and Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co KG.
The completion of the transaction is still subject to various conditions precedent, in particular the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities. The long-term cooperation agreement, which was last extended for a further five years at the end of 2020, expires on December 31, 2025. The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details. No company shares will be acquired.
Long tradition
BMW and the small series manufacturer from Buchloe, just outside Munich, have worked together closely and trustingly at the highest level for over half a century. Now the transformation in the automotive industry is beginning a new chapter.
"The automotive industry is in the midst of a profound transformation towards sustainable mobility. Existing business models must be regularly scrutinized. For over half a century, Buchloe has been impressively demonstrating how the highest quality automotive culture can be realized on four wheels with great attention to detail. This passion for fascinating cars also drives the BMW Group. That is why we are now opening a new chapter in our long-standing partnership. By acquiring the brand rights, we will shape the long-term future of this traditional brand. We are delighted to welcome the ALPINA brand to the BMW family," says Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales.
Strategic realignment necessary
Due to the transformation towards electromobility and increasing regulation worldwide - in particular emissions legislation, software safeguards and requirements for driver assistance and monitoring systems - the risks are also increasing significantly for small series manufacturers. The management of ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG is responding to this with a strategic realignment to secure the Buchloe site in the long term.
Andreas Bovensiepen, Managing Director of ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co KG, explains: "We recognized the challenges in the automotive industry in good time and are now setting the right course for ALPINA and also for our family business BOVENSIEPEN. A new chapter is now beginning. The desirability of the ALPINA brand and our company is of course enormous. We made a conscious decision not to sell ALPINA to just any manufacturer, because BMW and ALPINA have been working together in a spirit of trust for decades. For this reason, it is strategically the right decision for the ALPINA brand to be managed by the BMW Group in the future."
The cooperation will continue - but in a different form: Until the end of 2025, the Bovensiepen family company will continue to use its engineering expertise to develop, manufacture and sell BMW ALPINA vehicles from the existing cooperation. The BMW automobiles serving as the basis will be extensively modified by ALPINA. This concerns the engine and transmission, the chassis, the aerodynamics and the interior. BMW ALPINA vehicles are prefabricated on the BMW assembly lines, the final assembly of the vehicles takes place in the manufactory in Buchloe. The individualized interiors are also manufactured there according to customer requirements.
Spare parts and accessories business continues from Buchloe
The service, spare parts and accessories business for the existing and historic BMW ALPINA vehicle portfolio will be guaranteed at the Buchloe location in the long term. The cooperation in aftersales will continue unchanged. In addition, the existing development service business for BMW in Buchloe will be further expanded as part of a strategic cooperation between the two companies. The wine business included in the family business will continue unchanged.
"BMW and ALPINA - a perfect match! The ALPINA brand, which has matured over 50 years in close association with BMW, offers everything that makes the heart of automotive gourmets all over the world beat faster. It masters the balancing act between cultivated sportiness, luxury and exclusivity. We are therefore delighted to take over the brand rights to ALPINA and use them for a future BMW range," says Jens Thiemer, Senior Vice President Customer and Brand BMW.
2021 was the most successful year in the history of ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. The family business will realign itself with foresight from a position of strength in order to respond to legal challenges and technological change in the industry. This will secure the Buchloe site in the long term.
Focus on the company's own tradition
"We will continue our father's life's work and invest in the equally well-known name of BOVENSIEPEN. With our expertise and our high quality standards, we will bring other convincing mobile offerings to the 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 at ALPINA. We are using the strength of our company, our team and our families to undertake this reorientation at the right time. At the same time, together with the BMW Group, we are committed to our social responsibility towards our workforce and will do our best to mitigate the potential impact of this realignment."
The sale of the brand rights to BMW and the associated discontinuation of the current ALPINA vehicle program at the end of 2025 will have an impact on the existing jobs at the Buchloe site. BMW will support ALPINA in the coming years in connection with the necessary adjustment of jobs at the Buchloe site. By the end of 2025, BMW will, in consultation with ALPINA, offer some ALPINA employees for whom continued employment at the Buchloe site will not be possible a new job with the BMW Group and will also help to find new employment with suppliers or development partners.
ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co KG is a German vehicle manufacturer based in Buchloe. The company was officially founded on January 1, 1965. ALPINA has been active in BMW tuning and motorsport since the 1960s and became a manufacturer of passenger cars based on BMW AG products in 1978.
The company, based in Buchloe in the Ostallgäu district, has been registered as an official automobile manufacturer with the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg since 1983.
The company employs around 300 people. Around 2000 vehicles were manufactured in Buchloe in 2021. In addition to Germany and Europe, Japan, the USA and the Middle East are important markets for ALPINA. The second pillar of the family business is the ALPINA wine trade.
