Cupra looks forward to a huge year ahead

CUPRA will double its vehicle portfolio in 2025 while also aiming to expand its Australian presence to improve its sales and meet new market demand.

Product wise, there is a rollout of several additional variants, as well as all-new models that will expand the footprint of the range of vehicles that wear a Cupra badge – and that’s not including the new Tavascan electric crossover coupe, which was originally due next year but has been fast-forwarded for a late 2024 arrival.

The company has confirmed it will kick off 2025 with the launch of the Born VZ electric hot hatch, a sportier variant of the rear-wheel drive EV hatch that will sit above the existing Born model, which is still priced from $59,990 plus on-road costs.

The Born VZ scores an uprated 250kW/545Nm rear-mounted e-motor – well above what is currently offered in the entry-grade (a rear e-motor with 170kW/310Nm). The VZ is expected to host a 77kWh battery pack, as the current Born grade does.

The brand will also launch a facelifted version of the Leon hatchback between April and June 2025, with new powertrain options confirmed for our market comprising a mild-hybrid base model, while at the top of the line-up there’ll be a revamped VZe with an improved plug-in hybrid system offering considerably more EV range.

Alongside it will be an updated and facelifted Formentor, which gains a new exterior design, revised interior elements, and new powertrains including plug-in hybrid with more than 100km of EV range (WLTP).

The third quarter of the year will also see the much-anticipated arrival of the Leon SportsTourer wagon, which is expected to be offered with a Golf R-spec performance powertrain, and a plug-in hybrid option, too.

That model is seen as a technical and spiritual successor to the axed VW Golf R wagon.

And finally, in what could be the biggest news for the brand (literally), the all-new Cupra Terramar SUV will launch in the third quarter of the year.

It will be Cupra’s biggest SUV in terms of practicality and boot space, and unlike the also-large Tavascan electric crossover, the pragmatic Terramar will be offered with internal combustion engines and a plug-in hybrid with more than 100km of EV range.

It will likely compete with five-seat SUVs like the Volkswagen Tiguan and is expected to be positioned towards the upper end of the mainstream midsize SUV segment. It will strictly be a five-seater but will have a few different derivatives available.

While the brand is yet to announce any formal pricing and specs for the new model range, Cupra Australia managing director Ben Wilks said the business’s big portfolio expansion must go together with a physical expansion of the brand’s touchpoints across the country.

Over the first two years of operations with the brand now running 12 sales locations and 14 service centres, Cupra has sold 6000 units; and with increased volume planned and more complexity to the range, Mr Wilks admits Cupra needs to expand its physical presence.

“There’s so much more to come. We aim to nearly double the network as at the end of 2025, and we’re doing the same with the product range throughout 2025 - so quite a lot still to come,” said Mr Wilks.

“Why are we trying to double the network? Because we want to double the model range as well.

“The Born VZ introduces into an even sportier segment with Born. The most exciting thing I can say here is 250kW and rear-wheel drive. I think that sums up this car very well.

“Of course, next year the updated Leon and Formentor, the facelift models (are also due), and the car for which we hope to have quite a lot of excitement, the updated Leon SportsTourer.

“It’s been a long running project, and something that our passionate Cupra Tribe have definitely pushed along, so it will be great to bring that car,” he said of the sporty wagon, which for many will be the ideal replacement for the axed Volkswagen Golf R wagon.

“The next new hero is the Cupra Terramar, and this takes us into a new segment with a 4.6-metre SUV. It’s a size segment we haven’t been in before, and a great opportunity for the Cupra brand to keep growing.

“I think you can see why it is that we need to enlarge our footprint because we have to support the opportunity for all these cars coming,” he added.

At previous events Mr Wilks had suggested the business was aiming to sell 7000 cars in 2025, but a sombre start to 2024 may lead to a revised target for the market; not to mention an expected boom in competition from Chinese brands.

Through the first six months of 2024, Cupra has moved just 1150 units.

Cupra executive vice president of sales and marketing Sven Schuwirth said the market realities may mean that the number must be revised downwards.

“No, we might adjust that for sure,” he said of the 7000-unit target for next year.

“The overall environment that is currently happening in the Australian market, it is somewhat struggling at the moment.

“And we need to remain flexible. It’s a core recipe of the success of Cupra. It’s a buzz word, but we are quite agile and flexible, so just in terms of the product offers – BEV, plug-in hybrid, mild-hybrid, ICE – we have everything right now, but it’s also how we approach the market.

“It’s not only the Chinese brands and the competition for us, but whatever happens on the subsidies from the government, the tax regulations. We are living in a very unclear environment, which has also made us even stronger,” he continued.

“Keep in mind, we launched this brand in COVID, then we had semiconductor shortages, and in Europe we have wars – one in Ukraine, one in Israel – so it’s a different story.

“We have logistics issues, we have energy issues, and I think that remains the same, and that again leads you back that we need to remain flexible as an organisation including our largest national sales companies, but still have a target in mind.”

Cupra hasn’t just stuck with what it has got before riding out a big year of product introductions in 2025.

No, the brand has added value-focused Tribe Edition versions of the Leon hatch and the Formentor plug-in hybrid SUV, as well as the new base model Ateca V, which starts from $49,888 drive-away.

The Ateca V makes use of a familiar 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine (140kW/320Nm) with a dual-clutch (DSG) auto and all-wheel drive, and comes comprehensively equipped, too.

Standard gear includes 19-inch alloy wheels, sports bumpers with a hidden exhaust, LED headlight, puddle lights with the Cupra logo, black leather interior, power driver’s seat with memory, heated front seats and steering wheel, a 9.2-inch navigation system with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.2-inch Digital Cockpit driver display, power tailgate with hands free operation, keyless entry and push-button start, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charging and illuminated sill plates.

It also has the expected safety technology but can be optioned with a Tech Pack ($2900) that adds a surround-view camera as well as a Beats stereo with nine speakers, and dynamic chassis control adaptive dampers. An electric panoramic sunroof is available at $1850.

The brand is thickening its model range in the $40,000 to $70,000 range, and the addition of the new Tavascan electric crossover SUV will likely push the marque to new heights for pricing.

The entry-level Tavascan Endurance is on target to start at around $70,000 + ORCs, while the all-wheel drive VZ is likely to cost about 10 per cent more.