Renault is relaunching Alpine, but the strategy of going upmarket to face the economic crisis can prove to be complicated.

Nicolas Barré takes stock of a current economic issue.

Sport, luxury and top of the range, this is one of the ways Renault wants to take to emerge from the crisis by relaunching the Alpine brand, even on the Formula 1 circuits.

The coincidence is happy.

The day when a Frenchman, Pierre Gasly, won a splendid victory this Sunday on the Monza circuit in Italy, the new Renault boss, Luca de Meo, himself from Milan, announced the relaunch of the Alpine brand.

Alpine has come a long way.

A few months ago, the workers who made the legendary blue car in the Dieppe plant, on the contrary, feared the end of production of the Alpine A110, the only model of this sports coupe which is no longer produced in this regard. time to seven copies per day.

We are more, there, in the craft industry than in the high rates.

Note, for example, that cars are pawed, as they say, with a nylon gloved hand to identify body defects and make touch-ups.

In short, we are at the top of the range.

Renault wants to capitalize on this image.

It is often said that to save "made in France", you have to go upmarket.

There you have an example, admittedly modest but symbolic.

Renault wants to make Alpine its new sports brand.

Formula 1 will therefore be called Alpine and no longer Renault.

Today, 60% of Alpine sales are made in France and the rest mainly in Germany.

F1 will give this brand a much wider notoriety.

Alpine will compete against the stars of F1, Mercedes, Ferrari, MacLaren etc.

Because the idea behind, if the bet is a winner, is to develop an Alpine range.

There may be some Mégane Alpine tomorrow, for example.

On a whole new scale, Porsche followed this strategy of expanding its range by launching into SUVs in the 200s, when it was only sporting before.

Going upmarket is what many companies are looking for to get out of the crisis.

For that to work, it is obviously necessary that the quality and the image follow.

It is built over time.

And it is necessary that the customers follow, it is not easy.

Example in a completely different sector, air transport.

The new boss of Air France, Ben Smith, has built the recovery of the company on the move upmarket, on business customers.

But that was before the Covid.

Today, this clientele has still not returned to the planes.

Going upmarket is a great idea provided there is a market.

This will be the challenge for Renault and its Alpine.