New Spanish brand Cupra will soon release an electric car that is more fun to drive than any of today’s petrol cars, says the global head Wayne Griffiths.
The Cupra Born, a fully electric hot hatch, will arrive early next year. It will be our first example of the Volkswagen Group’s bespoke EV platform, known as MEB . The Born promises not just sporty performance but a leading combination of price and range: about $60,000, and nearly 550 kilometres between charges.The timing of Cupra’s arrival is a mixed blessing, with rising interest rates, but a continuing car shortage, particularly for EVs.
Griffiths, 57, is a Brit. He was the son of a Ford and Kia dealer but says he most admired the old Jaguars and Aston Martins in the used car lot. “That’s where the petrol in the blood came from, which,” he adds with a laugh, “in the future will be lithium.” “It was at a time, four years ago, when a lot of brands were being consolidated [but] I think it was the right time to do it because of the disruption in our industry, from combustion to electric on the one hand, and also a new generation of customers out there saying ‘I’m not going to drive or buy the brands that my parents or grandparents did, I want to be different’.”
The compact UrbanRebel EV hatch, scheduled for production in 2025, is sure to excite, Griffiths says.