Alpine kicks off its all-electric era with the A290 hot hatch EV that has video game style challenges
French automaker Alpine has launched its first EV model called the A290. This addition to Alpine’s small but sporty portfolio kicks off a lineup of BEVs to follow and comes equipped with some exciting features, including bidirectional charging capabilities, in-cockpit driving tutorials, and video game-like challenges you can complete.
Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, more commonly referred to as Alpine is a French automaker founded in the mid-1950s that specializes in compact motorsport vehicles. It currently operates as a subsidiary of France’s Renault Group and has collaborating with the OEM since the 1970s.
Renault helped revive the Alpine brand’s passenger vehicle arm in the early 2010s, helping develop a new model called the A110, which has been on sale in Europe since 2017. Looking ahead, Renault said it was working with Lotus Technology to develop a new EV sports coupe for the Alpine brand, but by 2023, those plans had been nixed.
Alpine’s CEO has previously promised two new “Porsche-like” EV models it intends to bring to the US – a market seen as a crucial one to enter for success. By the fall of 2023, Renault was seeking fresh suitors to invest in a reinvention of Alpine for the EV age, and was in talks with Geely out of China.
Before then, however, Alpine will begin selling its first EV model, which has taken much of its design DNA from the A110—and it’s called the A290 – based on a show car of the same name presented to the public in 2023.
The Alpine A290 EV looks like a fun, sporty new ride
Per details shared by Alpine today, the new A290 EV is nearly ready to go and touts impressive technology for a veteran automaker new to the segment. The new hot hatch sits atop a skateboard platform that offers optimized weight distribution (less weight on the front axle) and a lower center of gravity.
Combined with the extra rigidity from the BEV’s battery, the A290 provides balance in a short wheelbase with widened stability and larger tires—perfect for nimble, sporty maneuvers. The BEV comes standard with a 52 kWh battery pack that offers an (estimated) WLTP range of 380 km (236 miles). The A290’s platform enables charge rates up to 100 kW, replenishing from 10-80% in 30 minutes on a DCFC and 150 km (92 miles) in about fifteen minutes.
The platform also offers more advanced technologies, such as a heat pump, bidirectional charging that enables vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities, and the opportunity for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power transfers.
The new Alpine EV features a single motor that keeps its overall weight at an agile 1,479 kg (3,260 lbs). This propels the hot hatch from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in 6.4 seconds with up to 220 bhp and 300 Nm of torque.
A red button on the steering wheel activates an “Overtake” (OV) function that delivers extra power for up to 10 seconds. That boost can be recharged in 30 seconds but used immediately for another five-second boost after 15 seconds.
One last cool feature in the A290 EV is the Alpine Telemetrics function, which gives drivers access to three main categories to improve their experience behind the wheel: Live Data, Coaching, and Challenges.
- Live Data
- Agility: lateral and longitudinal Gs, ABS/ESC activation, Overtake boost.
- Power: monitoring of acceleration and braking (regenerative or hydraulic), battery recharging and Overtake boost potential.
- Endurance: consumption, accumulated energy, and battery status.
- Circuit: lap times, car data (motor and battery temperature, tire pressure and temperature, brake temperature), video recording on a smartphone with driving data display.
- Coaching
- Development engineers and drivers of the A290 offer first hand advice in the cockpit.
- Delivers advice on how to best control the EV using Alpine Telemetrics functions to improve your driving skills.
- Introduces the basic reflexes you need to adopt when driving a sports car, such as eye tracking, trajectory control and braking techniques.
- Concepts like managing drift when lifting off, become more advanced as you learn.
- Challenges
- The Alpine EV offers a series of challenges based on agility, power and endurance.
- Takes a distinct “video game-style” approach, with amusing names challenge names like “to infinity and beyond”
- Some challenges require closed roads (acceleration, braking, accelerator pedal percentages over a given distance).
- Endurance challenges can be completed on open roads, helping to teach anticipation in driving.
- Pass challenges to progress to new levels.
The Alpine A290 will be built at the Manufacture in Douai in Franc’es ElectriCity. Its electric motor and battery will also be built in France beginning in the summer of 2025. Alpine says that as it enters the EV age, the A290 will be followed by a GT C-Crossover and a new electric version of the A110.
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Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.
Electrek’s Take
As we often say over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, “just because you’re working for the power company doesn’t mean you have power,” and there are hundreds of scenarios where the extra power provided by something like the new PU500 would be useful. Its ability to be palletized and easily moved or swapped out of a larger BESS array, too, just add to its flexibility.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo.
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