Cupra to launch two new electrified models by 2023
SEAT spin-off Cupra confirms it’ll launch two electrified new models that “nobody has seen” – ahead of the Tavascan flagship
Cupra has announced plans to launch a pair of “electrified” models before the end of 2023 – boosting its range from four cars to eight within the next four years.
Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths said: “In the next two years we will be announcing two new models that nobody has seen yet, and expanding our product line-up.”
The news formed part of the brand’s fourth anniversary celebrations, where Griffiths unveiled ‘Cupra X 2’ – a vision for the coming year that details plans to double the maker’s retail network and subsequently double sales and turnover.
The event, streamed online, culminated with a shot of Griffiths beside two covered cars, either side of the brand’s Urban Rebel concept – a model which will make production in 2025 as Cupra’s smallest car - a city-focused EV.
Auto Express spoke with Griffiths following the announcement, and while the Cupra boss stopped short of telling us exactly what form these new cars might take, he told us they will not sit in “classical” segments.
“One of them may not be fully-electric; electrified”, Griffiths told us. “We believe up to 2030 there will still be demand for combustion, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and you have to offer that solution – particularly while the infrastructure is not there.”
Looking at the two cars, one appears to be lower than the other, taking the shape of an estate or shooting brake, probably not dissimilar to the existing Volkswagen Arteon – a car currently available with a choice of petrol and plug-in powertrains.
The second of the two models looks larger, perhaps with a coupe-SUV roofline not dissimilar to that found on the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV and Volkswagen ID.5. While the first will feature a combustion engine of some kind we expect this car to be pure-electric, almost certainly with the fastest ID.5’s 295bhp dual-motor set-up.
“I can tell you that they will be in segments that are growing”, Griffiths said. “There will be, I think in a lot of cases, cross-over [in segments]. Not in a classical segment. There will always be something that is a mixture, something unique. Instead of just a classical SUV, or a classical coupe, or a classical limousine.
“There’s a lot between those”, he continued. “There are concepts of shooting brakes, sportbacks and all sorts of things that are possible. But I think those two cars, from a Cupra perspective have to add, not substitute. There is still room for more cars.”
Griffiths admitted, however, that to get cars signed off they “have to make sense for [Cupra] as well as the Volkswagen Group”.
We’ll learn more about the two models in the coming months, with plans for a Cupra event already pencilled in for the summer. At least one of the cars is expected to be revealed this year, with the other held back for 2023.
The flagship Cupra Tavascan – a large, pure-electric SUV – will follow in 2024, with an entry-level smaller BEV based on the Urban Rebel due the following year.
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