BMW acquires Alpina brand after working together for 57 years

German manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles BMW Group, on Friday, announced the acquisition of its long-term tuning partner Alpina brands, which is responsible for some of the most iconic and coolest modified BMWs around the world.

BMW’s Alpina-tuned models, in terms of power output and performance, have traditionally been positioned halfway between the BMW’s standard cars and its high-performance M branded versions.

BMW's acquisition will give the luxury automaker rights to Alpina's branding and will bring "even greater diversity to its own luxury car range,” said the Munich-based automaker in a statement.

BMW also said that the Alpina brand will be absorbed into the group from 2025 onwards, with the tuning company’s manufacturing operations moving from its original Buchloe headquarters in Germany to BMW's facilities. Interestingly, BMW was already providing factory warranties to cars equipped with Alpina components.

The Alpina brand, which has been an independent entity until now, already have an official cooperation agreement in place with BMW that is due to expire on December 31, 2025. The two firms have been closely working for 57 years so far.

Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales, BMW Group, said, “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… 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.”

The Munich-based automaker further added that “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.” Neither BMW nor Alpina have disclosed any financial details of the deal.

Andreas Bovensiepen, co-managing director of Alpina, said, “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.”

BMW also acknowledged that the discontinuation of Alpina's stand-alone operations would "have implications for existing jobs at the Buchloe site" and has agreed to find affected employees another role within the BMW Group by the end of 2025.