Cupra Leon, Ateca and Formentor to launch in Australia

Spanish newcomer Cupra plans to command five per cent of the electric car market within a few years, making it a significant player within the emerging EV space.

Cupra Leon hatchback

Spanish newcomer Cupra plans to command five per cent of the electric car market within a few years, making it a significant player within the emerging EV space.

Now on sale locally, Australia’s latest car brand may have arrived at just the right time as buyers scramble for limited stock, electrified cars continue to gain interest and the status quo is being challenged.

Volkswagen-owned newcomer Cupra is already holding “a few hundred” orders weeks before its first nine showrooms – including a flagship Cupra Garage in Sydney - open.

The Spanish brand that is a sporty evolution of Seat – which made a fleeting visit to Australia in the late 1990s — is planning to sell about 1600 cars in its first year before swiftly ramping up to 7000 cars.

And it’s EVs that are at the core of the Cupra brand, with plans to outgun the likes of Toyota and Mazda in the early electric car race.

“Our DNA is always electrified and, long-term, electric,” says Kai Vogler, VP of sales and marketing.

2022 Cupra Formentor.

Visiting Australia for the launch of the brand, the global head of Cupra, Wayne Griffiths, says the market turmoil and shortage of stock complements the brand’s arrival.

“It’s the right time … to be launching a new brand,” says Griffiths. “There’s a generation of consumers out there that are looking for different brands than their parents or grandparents have driven.”

Trying to wedge itself into some clear air between mainstream brands such as Toyota and Mazda and luxury marques such as Audi and BMW, Cupra is hoping to capitalise on increasing interest in EVs.

“The mindset of the Australian consumers, it’s a very young country, very open-minded, not fixed in the past, not hung up on heritage or tradition or prestige,” says Griffiths.

“We want to do emotional, sexy cars that are fun to drive in an electrified world.”

Cupra wants to charge about 5 per cent more than existing mass market brands, in turn offering more style and features.

Vogler describes Cupra as “the unconventional challenger”.

“Our mission is clear: We want to do cars for a new generation of car lovers,” he says. “Not everybody has to like it, but some people really love what we are doing.”

2022 Cupra Formentor interior.

Without any brand baggage – Cupra only kicked off globally in 2018 – the newcomer is embracing sustainability, modern production techniques and fresh materials.

“We don’t use the typical … chrome, leather or traditional wood,” says designer Jorge Diaz.

Copper colour touches are a distinctive Cupra element, chosen to signify the morning light in Barcelona.

It’s also a nice link to the brand’s ambition to be only selling electric vehicles by 2030.

Cupra is launching with three models: the Leon hatchback, priced from $56,990 drive-away, the Ateca crossover, priced from $65,990, and the Formentor SUV, priced from $54,990.

The Leon and Formentor are available with petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrains.

Early in 2023 it will beat parent Volkswagen in offering an EV in Australia with the arrival of the Born hatchback.

Other EVs such as the UrbanRebel and Tavascan are planned by 2025.

Griffiths says the Born, which should be priced at about $60,000, will help Cupra “hopefully get to a relevant market share, which would be around 5 per cent of the electric market”.

“We need to be relevant, otherwise we’re just a niche player. We don’t want to be that.”