Cupra targets annual sales of 70,000 units a year worldwide of its new Tavascan electric SUV, the brand’s second full-electric model after the Born hatchback.
Unveiled last week at an event in Berlin, the Cupra Tavascan coupe-styled SUV is the brand’s interpretation of Volkswagen Group’s electric SUV coupe lineup, which also includes the VW ID.5, Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV, and Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron.
Based on VW Group’s MEB all-electric platform, the Cupra Tavascan will be built in China at a new plant located in Anhui province and exported to Europe.
SEAT and Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths said at the Tavascan launch event that the automaker’s target is to sell 70,000 units of the electric SUV coupe in a full year, according to Automotive News Europe. That’s an ambitious goal considering that the brand sold about 31,000 Born electric hatchbacks last year, and Volkswagen sold around 23,000 ID.5s.
Cupra’s overall sales in 2022 amounted to 152,900 vehicles, up 93 percent over 2021, with the Formentor compact SUV, which only comes in ICE and PHEV variants, making up almost two-thirds of the total – about 98,000 sales.
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With that in mind, the Tavascan sales target does not seem overly optimistic, even though the Formentor offers a much broader variety when it comes to powertrains.
Furthermore, the Tavascan has the advantage of being part of a very popular market segment, although that’s a double-edged sword. Besides having to compete with its MEB platform siblings, the Cupra Tavascan will also face fierce rivals such as the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 in Europe.
Obviously, pricing will play a key role in the Tavascan’s success, but Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths said that a final price had not yet been decided, citing volatility in the EV market. He did say the electric SUV coupe would be “competitively” priced to achieve Cupra’s volume target.
Synergies with the VW Group in China will help the Tavascan compete on price, he added, with a final figure to be “somewhere between the mass and premium segments” of the market, or between Volkswagen and Audi.
The best-selling car in the segment, the Tesla Model Y, starts at about $50,000 (45,000 euros) in Europe after repeated price cuts, so Cupra will have to take that into account as well.
The Cupra Tavascan is due to go on sale in Europe in the first half of 2024, with deliveries to follow after the summer. Right-hand drive markets will follow slightly later. That means European customers won’t be able to take delivery of one earlier than a year from now.
