Cupra Terramar, Tavascan and UrbanRebel confirmed for Australia

Cupra has confirmed plans to launch three new electrified models in Australia in the next three years as the fledgling Spanish performance brand aims to achieve more than 7000 annual sales locally.

Speaking with media at the official launch of Cupra’s Sydney Garage last night, Cupra’s global chief executive Wayne Griffiths described Australia as a “key strategic market” for the burgeoning Volkswagen-owned brand.

Griffiths confirmed the plug-in hybrid 2024 Cupra Terramar SUV, 2024 Cupra Tavascan coupe-style SUV and 2025 Cupra UrbanRebel crossover – all of which were revealed last month – were slated for Australia.

This will broaden its range out to seven model lines as Cupra eyes an all-electrified line from 2030.

In no uncertain terms, Griffiths told carsales there were firm volume expectations of the Cupra brand, which needs to effectively quadruple its projected 1600 sales in 2022 to more than 7000 sales in 2025 in order to be considered a success.

“It needs to work by 2025,” he said.

“There are probably two phases to the development: we launch the Cupra brand now with the existing line-up that we have – the Leon, the Formentor, the Ateca and the Born – and we need to get to a relevant volume within the next couple of years within the first phase.

“With those three models you could get to that volume with the plug-in hybrid technology.

“In the second phase our electrification really starts with the Cupra Tavascan, the Cupra Terramar and the Cupra UrbanRebel.

“We want to make that bigger from 2025 onwards to a volume share in the market we’re in of about five per cent. If we want to be relevant then we need to be five per cent (of EV markets we’re in).”

To achieve its goal, Griffiths said Cupra would initially prioritise its global production for Australia this year to ensure there are enough vehicles to meet demand, amid a “challenging supply environment globally”.

Similarly, Cupra officials seem undeterred by the recent preview of updated Formentor, Leon and Born models in Europe last month –  just as they’re preparing to launch what are effectively superseded cars.

Moreover, the larger Ateca SUV appears as though it could be a one-hit wonder, with no discussion of a replacement.

Instead, insiders are adamant Cupra can conquest buyers from outside the Volkswagen Group – not only with three years’ free servicing and a guaranteed future buyback scheme, but design and performance.

“I think now is the right time, not only for Australia but for Cupra in general, because you see with the disruption of our industry from combustion cars to electric cars, you see a lot of new players arriving to the market,” Griffiths said.

“These brands are emerging not only because of this disruption but they’re emerging because the customers are looking for something different.

“There’s a generation of young customers coming up who want different brands than their parents and their grandparents. They want to stand out for their generation and they want to stand out because they stand for something.

“The brands that resonate with this new generation have to be brands that do not base their values on history, heritage and prestige, status and money, but more values that align with today’s generation: sustainability, contemporary values as well. That’s what makes Cupra stand out.

“It’s the right time for new brands if they’re authentic. What you promise you have to deliver.”

Cupra expects to appeal to a younger generation of buyers than most Volkswagen Group brands – offering something of a sweet spot to buyers aged around 40 years.

Although firm on his intentions, Griffiths insisted he is not getting too hung up on numbers and was aware of the fierce competition within the Australian market.

He was also unfazed when told it took sister brand Skoda 12 years to accumulate 7000 annual sales in Oz – albeit in different circumstance and hamstrung by vehicle choice.

“I could give you numbers about how many cars we want to sell in Australia but for me the measure of success for Cupra in Australia is that we resonate with a very discerning group of customers,” he said.

“I have not in any way underestimated the Australian market, it’s a tough market and it’s a very competitive market. But it’s still a very open-minded market, and if you are authentic and deliver what you promise then you could hit a nerve in Australia.

“Doing sporty cars is good for the Australian market. I think the design is a provocative story – but not just provoking for the hell of it … I think that will be the measure of success: does the brand resonate in Australia as it is doing in Europe after four years there?

“Whether that results in 5000 or 10,000 cars at the end, I couldn’t care less. I’m not here for the volume or whatever, we’re here to extend our global footprint.

“The second reason and the biggest reason that we’re here is to prove that we can be a global brand and not just a brand based in Europe. We’ve come to the furthest place away to prove that, and probably one of the most difficult on the market.”

The Cupra Garage in the Sydney CBD is one of nine projected physical “points of sale” expected in Australia by August, when customer vehicles begin arriving in serious numbers, covering most major cities.

The brand aims to extend its retail footprint to 15 locations in Australia in 2023.

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