Ms Burnside’s appointment strengthens the Alpine brand and growth ambitions and also the collective Renault Group UK leadership team after a series of new strategic appointments in the past 12 months.

She replaces Seb Brechon who takes up a new position within Renault Group UK.

Responsible for continuing Alpine’s ambitious growth plans in the UK, Ms Burnside’s new role will include the launch of seven new products by 2030, starting with the brand’s first all-electric hot hatch, the A290, next year.

Alpine said Ms Burnside brings a wealth of experience from previous positions at Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group.

Her experience covers premium drinks, retail and most recently automotive sectors where she has held numerous marketing, commercial and consultancy roles.

Racer: New Alpine UK boss Nicola Burnside is an accomplished classic-car racer, regularly competing at prestigious UK circuits such as Goodwood and Silverstone

She has more than 14 years’ experience in the automotive industry with brands including Volkswagen, Mercedes, Seat and start-up hypercar Kincsem.

In these companies, Ms Burnside played a pivotal role defining brand strategy, leading eCommerce sales channel developments and most recently leading the definition of the customer experience programme for Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Alpine said she “truly embodies the Alpine motorsport and racing DNA and Rac(h)er program. She is a motorsport enthusiast and accomplished classic car racer, competing in various events across the UK such as the Goodwood Members’ Meeting and Silverstone Classic”.

Ms Burnside said she was “incredibly excited to be joining the Alpine band of racers at such a pivotal time in the company’s history”.

“The A110 has always been a car that I have personally wanted to own, and seeing the new A290_β perform at Goodwood even further cemented my passion for the brand.

“Born from racing, Alpine is rising to the challenge of electric and the ‘dream garage’ of new cars in the pipeline certainly makes this a very exciting company to be a part of.”

Alpine’s vice president of sales, marketing and customer experience, Antonino Labate, said: “This is a truly exciting time for the Alpine brand as we are developing an ambitious growth strategy, which is a critical part of Luca de Meo’s ‘Renaulution’ strategy.

“The UK is a key part of our plan and I’m delighted to welcome Nicola onboard to lead Alpine’s journey in the UK.”

By Neil Dowling