Cupra counts on performance for Born EV

The Cupra Born full-electric hatchback will be differentiated from its sibling, the Volkswagen ID3, by offering better performance.

The Born will have an e-boost for instantaneous performance, a sort of "push-to-pass button to go faster," Seat CEO Wayne Griffiths said.

The Born will be equipped with the 77-kilowatt-hour battery used by the top versions of its sibling VW ID3.  It will have a 500 km (311 miles) range and accelerate from 0 to 50 kph (31 mph) in 2.9 seconds.
 
The 0-100 kph acceleration "is not available yet and will be communicated when the Born goes on sale, Cupra said.

In order to attract young customers, the Born will also be offered under subscription contracts, with a monthly fee that will include the use of the vehicle and related services, Griffiths said during an online event last month to mark the third anniversary of the Cupra brand.

Volkswagen Group's Seat unit launched the Cupra brand to focus on sportier versions of Seat models that generate higher profit margins.

The Born will be Cupra's first full-electric hatchback. It is underpinned by the group's MEB platform, which also underpins the VW brand's ID3 hatchback and ID4 crossover. Production of the Born will start in the fourth quarter in VW Group's EV plant in Zwickau, Germany, which also builds the ID3 and ID4.

The Born name refers to the el-Born district in Barcelona.

The Born will increase Cupra's profitability and give the brand access to northern European markets with high sales of EVs such as Norway and the Netherlands, Griffiths said during an online event on Feb. 22 to celebrate the third anniversary of the Cupra brand.

Electric-only brand

The launch of the Born is the latest step in Cupra's electrification plan. VW Group wants to turn the marque into a full-electric brand, VW CEO Herbert Diess wrote in a LinkedIn post on March 7.

Seat's factory in Martorell, near Barcelona, would eventually build only battery-powered cars under VW Group's plans, potentially including small EVs for other group brands.

Griffiths said Cupra is working hard to bring the Tavascan compact electric SUV to production. The model was was shown as a concept at the 2019 Frankfurt auto show.

The Tavascan, like any other VW Group vehicle, is subject to the approval by the group's management, he said.  Griffiths did not say when a final decision would be taken, nor when a production vehicle would be launched.

In an interview with Automotive News Europe in late 2019, former Seat CEO Luca De Meo said the Tavascan "is more than a design exercise to show what Cupra could do using the underpinnings of the forthcoming VW ID4."

Cupra will launch sales of a plug-in hybrid version of the Formentor compact crossover this year. The plug-in is expected to account for 50 percent of Formentor sales, Griffiths said.

The Formentor contributed to Cupra's sales growth last year, with 3,600 units delivered in the last two months of 2020 after its November debut.

A high-powered gasoline version of the Formentor will also join the range this year: the Formentor VZ5. The VZ5 badge stands for VeloZ (Spanish for fast) and for a 5-cylinder engine.

The Formentor VZ5 "is the maximum expression of combustion performance for car enthusiasts," Griffiths said.

Its engine is a 2.5-liter, direct-injection turbocharged gasoline unit with 385 hp. It has a peak torque of 480 newton-meters and is coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The Formentor VZ5 can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds and has a top speed of 250 kph (156 mph).

Production of the Formentor VZ5 will be limited to 7,000 units, Griffiths said.

The availability of Formentor for a full year will help Cupra's vehicle sales to more than double in 2021, Griffiths said. Cupra aims for revenues "over 1 billion euros," he said.

Cupra sold 27,400 vehicles last year, up 11 percent on 2019.

The brand will try and increase its high street visibility by opening new showrooms in Europe and Latin America.

Cupra plans to open a new dealership in Munich in the second half, following the opening of stores in Mexico City in 2019 and Hamburg and Barcelona last year.

Cupra calls the dealerships City Garage Stores to associate them with racing car tuning garages to add sportiness to the brand.