MUNICH -- Cupra is well prepared to weather any economic downturn in Europe, Seat and Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths said, thanks to strong demand and future models.
“There’s a storm on the way,” Griffiths said on the sidelines of the IAA auto show here. “The economic environment is going to get tough next year, with inflation and interest rates at the current levels and a recession threat in of the biggest European markets.”
Sales at Cupra, which became a standalone brand spun off from Seat in 2018, increased 57 percent to 107,300 in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period last year – including 23,000 sales in June alone. “You can do the math to see where it will be at year’s end,” Griffiths said.
He said that while Cupra was unlikely to overtake Seat’s sales volume this year, the brand, which sells higher-cost vehicles, is more profitable. Parent company Volkswagen Group has said that Seat will take on a new role in the future as a comprehensive mobility services provider.
In addition to a strong order book, Cupra is preparing to launch three key models in the next two years, starting with the full-electric Tavascan midsize SUV in about a year, with European models exported from China. It will be followed by the midsize Terramar SUV, a sibling model to the Audi A3 (the two models will be built in Audi’s factory in Gyor, Hungary). The Raval small full-electric hatchback will debut in late 2025.
Cupra is targeting 70,000 annual sales for the Tavascan alone.