Cupra to launch small, affordable electric car by 2025
New urban EV will follow larger El-born onto market
Seat Ibiza-sized 'urban electric car' will lead the transformation of the Spanish car industry
Cupra is set to launch an all-electric entry-level model by 2025 as part of the ongoing electrification of its line-up.
Speaking as Cupra marked three years as a standalone brand, CEO Wayne Griffiths said the compact EV would be "more than a car for us, it's the future of the car industry in Spain".
"Cupra will help make electric cars available to the masses with an urban, small electric car - and that's a project we're working on with the Volkswagen Group."
The new model will sit in the A0 segment, below the upcoming El-born electric hot hatchback, meaning it will be comparable in size to the Seat Ibiza and Volkswagen Polo.
"This segment is huge in Europe, and is going to change to electric cars, and this is the most difficult one to do it on. Doing it with cars like the Porsche Taycan at the top end of the market is a bit easier, but doing it with small cars, to make money is a challenge."
Potential designs have been completed, and the new model will likely be officially previewed later this year, should talks with the VW Group and Spanish authorities be sufficiently advanced. "We need to be ready by 2025", Griffiths said, "so the decisions need to be made this year."
He voiced a commitment to the new car's affordability, suggesting that 'synergies' within the wider VW Group and beyond would be key to keeping development costs - and thus final prices - down.
The platform for the new model, Griffiths confirmed, will come from the Group, suggesting Cupra will use the 'MEB-Lite' architecture Volkswagen is developing for the smallest model in its ID electric line-up.
That means the Cupra model will offer a maximum battery size of 45kWh and could be priced from around £17,800, if it follows the pricing strategy of its VW sibling. Group CEO Ralf Brandstätter has previously said "cars in smaller segments are important and very interesting for us," and promised details of expansion at the lower end of the electric line-up soon. The Volkswagen version will almost certainly launch before those from any sibling brand.
"We've been doing a lot of work on developing individual models for different Volkswagen Group brands," Griffiths said. "The idea is to build the car here in Spain. To make that happen, we need the help of the Spanish government and the European Commission to invest in this transformation."
He emphasised the domestic economical implications of developing an affordable electric model in Spain, suggesting that the creation of jobs is key in a tourism-biased economy that has been particularly harshly impacted by global travel restrictions over the past year.
"Transformation of the car industry is going to be important, not only for building cars here in Martorell but for the whole chain, downstream and upstream," Griffiths said.
Cupra is also in discussions with the Spanish government regarding the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, to avoid a sparse network forming a barrier to the adoption of its EVs.
*READ MORE*
*New 2021 Cupra El-Born is VW Group’s first EV hot hatch*
*Volkswagen committed to 'entry-level' ID electric models*
*Cupra plots rapid electric transition and sales growth in 2021*