Cupra Looking at Possible Expansion Into Canada, U.S.
Cupra, originally developed as Spanish automaker Seat’s sporty division, is now a standalone brand within Volkswagen AG. With a strong presence in Europe, obviously, but also in South America and even Mexico, the company is preparing to launch in Australia later this year.
During a stop in the land down under to inaugurate the Sydney showroom, Cupra’s top boss Wayne Griffiths hinted that North America could be the next step in its expansion plan.
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"There are markets outside of Australia that we're developing. On top of that, obviously if you want to become a global brand—our reason for coming to Australia—is to prove that we can become a global brand,” he told Drive. “Then you need to look at markets like North America, but that would only be in a second phase. For now there is no decision being made on North America, but we're starting to analyze the market.”
The current Cupra lineup includes the Formentor and Ateca compact SUVs, Leon compact hatchback and a small electric car called Born. Three new models will join them by mid-decade: the Terramar (gasoline and plug-in hybrid) and Tavascan (electric) SUVs as well as the UrbanRebel electric hatchback, which will be the biggest project for Cupra in the upcoming years according to the vice president of R&D, Werner Tietz.
The Terramar will be built at VW Group's factory in Gyor, Hungary, alongside the Audi Q3 on which it is based. The turbocharged 2.0-litre engine will be the same, too.
Given the close ties between Cupra products and those sold by Volkwagen/Audi, an eventual foray into North America would likely go through hybrid and electric models. But make no mistake: the brand is distinctive enough on its own thanks to unique designs and interiors.
“We don’t want to copy somebody, we want to do something new. We want to do emotional, sexy cars that are fun to drive in an electrified world,” Griffiths clarified to Drive.
What do you think about the prospect of Cupra landing in Canada? There are so many cool European cars and crossovers we can’t have here, so we say: bring it on.
