Cupra signals plan to become a challenger brand for Australian buyers

Cupra has clearly outlined its intentions ahead of its local debut next year – aiming to be a major player in the performance market and advance the uptake of electric vehicles at the same time.

CEO Wayne Griffiths announced the Spanish subsidiary of Volkswagen will not take a conservative approach when it turns up on local shores in 2022, promising its vehicles will feature provocative designs to set them apart from their VW, Skoda and Audi cousins.

Aiming to be a challenger rather than a disruptor, Cupra has already shown off its three-strong line-up of the Leon hatchback, Formentor medium-SUV and Ateca large-SUV, all of which will enter the market as dedicated performance vehicles in a variety of segments.

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Cupra Formentor E-Hybrid

While all models at launch will either be internal combustion-engined or plug-in hybrid vehicles, Griffiths believes his brand can set itself apart from the likes of VW and Skoda. Rather than shying away from bringing EVs to Australia, instead it plans to make it a priority for Cupra to deliver a performance EV to Australia.

There are, of course, some limiting factors to this plan – the Volkswagen Group, alongside other manufacturers, has openly criticised the Australian Government for its lack of EV policies and infrastructure – prioritising models to countries which actively encourage EV ownership, rather than one which passively discourages it.

Despite this, Cupra is still aiming to bring its EV-only Born model to Australia by 2023 at the latest, followed by the Tavascan concept and yet-to-be launched Rebel – all based on the MEB platform which underpins VW's ID.3 and ID.4

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Cupra Leon

Although all of the cars in the current line-up feature the familiar MQB and MLB platforms used on a other VW Group models, Griffiths insists Cupra's design style is unique.

This will become more apparent in EV models of the future, as, according to Griffiths, "in the combustion era it was easy to make an emotional car, we just put a five-cylinder into a Formentor and gave it drift mode".

"[Many] electric vehicles are fast so there needs to be a differentiating factor."

The turning point will be down to the car's handling and overall driving experience, setting up the suspension to take away the feeling of extra weight, which is caused by the addition of a load of batteries under the floor.

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Cupra Ateca

Australia will be one of Cupra's first destinations for its local launch, adopting the "love it or leave it" attitude to describe its vehicles.

"We don't want people to like our cars, we want them to love them, and if they can't do that – they can leave it," said Griffiths.

It's very likely only enthusiasts will know about the arrival of Cupra when the marque does come to Australia, but through its provocative car design, Cupra is trying to make sure they remember the brand when it launches.

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Cupra Born

Australian Director Ben Wilks believes the brand will position itself amidst a range of performance vehicles around the $60,000-70,000 mark, and hopes to truly make an impression on the local market.

With the Skoda, Volkswagen and Audi performance ranges recently undergoing updates, Cupra could well and truly position itself as a contender in the local performance scene when it turns up next year.