Cupra Formentor SUV to go electric in its next generation
Cupra’s CEO Wayne Griffiths has confirmed that the Formentor’s future will be electric
The Formentor SUV has been a smash hit for Cupra and now its future is assured with plans afoot to turn it into an EV by the end of the decade. The new Cupra Formentor will also utilise the latest technology available from the Volkwagen Group and become a crucial element of Cupra’s plans to sell cars in the US.
Speaking at SEAT’s annual media conference in Barcelona, CEO Wayne Griffiths revealed plans for an all-new Formentor. "There will be a new version of Formentor towards the end of the decade.” He also confirmed the Formentor EV would use a variant of the upcoming VW Group SSP architecture - designed to replace the current MEB platform found on the Cupra Born and various VW Group electric vehicles. “It wouldn't be on an existing platform, but on a version of SSP - that's the plan", said Griffiths.
It’s no surprise that the Formentor has been given the green light to become an EV. It’s the most popular car from the Spanish firm by far with 120,000 sales in 2023 representing a 23 per cent year-on-year increase.
SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) is planned to enter the market from 2026, so the Cupra Formentor EV won’t be the first to utilise the new technology. Along with power increases, SSP is expected to cut charging times and boost range over equivalent MEB-based electric cars.
During the conference, Griffiths also announced Cupra’s intentions to enter the US market by the end of the decade. The Formentor EV will be core to Cupra’s expansion, alongside a new EV according to Griffiths: "Electric Formentor and a larger electric SUV would make sense for the US market. It also makes sense to build them in the US." The SEAT CEO did raise his preference for the Formentor EV to be built at the firm’s Martorell plant in Spain however.
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