Cupra’s growth plans will focus on both broadening its model range and expanding into new markets, according to interim CEO Markus Haupt.
Next year, it will launch the new Raval electric hot hatch, shown in near production form at the Munich motor show, on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB Entry platform. It will be the brand’s smallest model and, starting from around £22,000, its cheapest.
Haupt told Autocar the Raval, the eighth model in Cupra’s line-up, “is very important to us”. He added: “We have a history of success with big growth, having launched seven models in our first seven years, and we need the Raval to continue this growth story.”
Cupra sold around 248,000 cars worldwide last year, 7.5% up on 2023. That trend is set to continue this year, and it should accelerate when the Raval launches next year.
But Haupt said the firm is not only relying on new models to spur growth but also actively looking into new markets. The firm had previously planned to launch in the US in the coming years, but those plans have been delayed due to market uncertainties.
Haupt said: “We don’t only need new cars to grow, we also need new markets. We are well established in more than 50 countries, more than 1200 dealers. But of course, we knew we also look to new markets because we need to keep growing.”
The current focus is on the Middle East, Haupt said, due to “feedback from the region, with customers and dealers asking ‘hey guys, when are you coming?'”
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