Nicolas Meunier, a journalist for Challenges, tested the Alpine A390 GTS, an electric SUV with 470 horsepower, over more than 1,000 kilometers. His journey included four fast charging sessions on different networks, but none of the charging times came close to the 27 minutes Alpine claimed for charging from 15 to 80 percent. His best result was 41 minutes at an Ionity station, while the slowest was 55 minutes at a TotalEnergies station. Each stop on the highway added 15 minutes to the journey, and sometimes nearly half an hour, on an SUV priced at 78,000 euros before options. The A390 GTS is the first Alpine model to use batteries from Verkor, a French startup that recently opened a gigafactory in Bourbourg, near Dunkirk. The rest of the car follows the "made in France" strategy of the Renault group, with assembly in Dieppe and electric motors in Cléon, near Rouen. However, the Bourbourg factory is not yet operating at full capacity, and Renault has criticized it for delays of up to 18 months. To avoid delaying the launch, Renault used batteries from LG for the A390 GT, a version with 400 horsepower released earlier this year. Alpine, however, chose to wait for Verkor to achieve the higher 470 horsepower output, which the LG batteries could not support. This decision caused several months of delay, as the GTS, originally scheduled for the first quarter of the year, only started accepting orders on June 2. Deliveries have only just begun. Renault, which owns 12 percent of Verkor, has expressed concerns about these delays, publicly telling its supplier to "correct the trajectory," citing growing competitiveness gaps compared to similar European products. Verkor lost out on the next generation of the Renault Master utility vehicle in the process but remains a supplier for the A390 GTS and the new Trafic, and must gradually equip the Scénic. The A390 GTS skips the 800-volt architecture, which is standard for vehicles of this price range and allows for faster charging. Alpine announced a charging power peak of 190 kW for the GTS, compared to 150 kW for the GT with LG cells. The battery capacity remains the same, but the Verkor cells are expected to handle more power at the station. However, during testing, the first recharge was problematic. After just under 300 kilometers on the highway, the car was connected at 7 percent on a TotalEnergies station with Alpitronic equipment. The power quickly rose to 180 kW before collapsing after only three minutes, at 15 percent charge. The limitation lasted two minutes, then the current resumed for a few seconds before dropping again. On an Ionity station with ABB equipment, it took 41 minutes to reach 80 percent, the best result of the test. On a Powerdot station with Blueberry equipment, the power never exceeded 90 kW. Challenges disconnected after about ten minutes and estimated it would have taken about 45 minutes to reach 80 percent. The brand's press service admitted instability on Alpitronic stations since a September update, but this explanation did not reassure. The Alpitronic equipment, known for its reliability, is the most widespread, with most operators choosing it for new stations. However, the ABB and Blueberry stations did not perform much better, pointing more towards the battery. Throughout the test, Challenges never obtained the same charging curve twice. Possible issues include poor heat management, faulty control software, or extreme caution on cells that have been little tested. The magazine did not receive a response from Renault engineers or Verkor. This scenario reminds Challenges of the difficulties with French batteries on the DS N°8 last year, which also skipped the 800-volt architecture. At Stellantis, these cells continue to complicate the arrival of the Grande Autonomie versions of the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008, extending delivery times. Challenges recommends the A390 GT, which has LG cells that maintain a consistent performance during charging. It is less powerful (400 horsepower) and accepts less power at the station (a maximum of 150 kW), but it costs 67,500 euros, 10,500 euros less than the GTS. This advice is ill-timed for Alpine, which is currently reducing the production rate of its Dieppe plant from 30 to 15 cars per day, far from the 50 originally targeted. The brand calls this a "normal" evolution after filling dealerships, but the CGT at the site counted only about sixty orders in August.