A BMW Alpina hybrid is at least 3 years away, if the company does one at all
Alpina boss Andreas Bovensiepen isn't too interested in electrifying the company's lineup.
BMW recently announced it'll bring 25 new electrified vehicles to market by 2023. But as far as BMW tuner Alpina is concerned, the company has no interest in immediately pursuing an electrified future.
Alpina boss Andreas Bovensiepen says he isn't planning to offer a reworked version of one of BMW's current or upcoming EVs. "The range of the battery is not satisfying enough," he told Roadshow at Alpina's headquarters in Buchloe, Germany, on Wednesday.
"I think our first step will be hybrid," Bovensiepen said. But at the earliest, he estimates such a car is "three, four years away."
A potential first attempt at an electrified Alpina could be a version of BMW's new 745e plug-in hybrid sedan. After all, Alpina already offers the B7, which pumps up the 7 Series ' engine, chassis, interior and visual appearance. Theoretically, many of these changes could be applied to the 745e, while leaving the powertrain alone, or only mildly tuned.
Still, Bovensiepen seemed to shrug off the idea of an Alpina plug-in hybrid, just like he did a full EV. "The time is not right now for an Alpina hybrid," he said.
