Update: ‘Updated MEB platform’ section added.
With the Cupra Born successfully sent into production in Zwickau, Germany, preparations have started to push the next Cupra EV into the marketplace. The second model from the Spanish brand will be the production version of the Cupra Tavascan Concept (also called Cupra Tavascan Electric Concept), positioned above the Born.
SUV-Coupe design
The Cupra Tavascan will compete with the VW ID.5 and the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV with a streamlined body. Image Source: Volkswagen Group
The Cupra Tavascan (reported codename: SE316/8) is a compact SUV-coupe akin to Volkswagen’s ID.5 and Skoda’s Enyaq Coupe iV. It should gun for the title of the most aggressive and athletic SUV in the VW Group family, though technically the same underneath (MEB platform) as the Skoda or VW offering. Expect around 90 per cent of the concept’s exterior design to make it to the production vehicle. The interior would also closely mirror the concept, but we think the final car would have a significantly smaller (probably 5.3-inch) instrument cluster instead of the concept’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
Showing how the Cupra Tavascan won’t carry heavy design changes into the production version, auto illustrator Kleber Silva (KDesign AG) has visualised the final design. The rendering below shows the desirable street-legal Tavascan with a less aggressive bumper, realistic headlamps that provide improved range & brightness, an openable bonnet with the CUPRA logo, and standard door handles.
The Cupra Tavascan will not look much different from the design concept, as portrayed in this render. Image: Behance/KDesign AG
Tavascan Extreme E Concept keeps the ball rolling
There’s a gap of about five years between the Cupra Tavascan Concept and the production car launch. To maintain customer interest, Cupra introduced the Cupra Tavascan Extreme E Concept in 2021. The show car is derived from the e-CUPRA ABT XE1, Extreme E team ABT CUPRA XE’s real all-electric off-road racing car, which French company Spark Racing Technology designed. The Tavascan Extreme E Concept has an entirely new exterior with “100% Cupra DNA.”
Cupra says that the Extreme E Concept hints at the design language for the production Tavascan. The company has changed the ABT CUPRA XE’s front and rear considerably to convert it into a new model. Unlike the donor, the Tavascan Extreme E Concept features LED headlights that form a group of three triangles on either side, lending the off-roader vigour. Look for the same copper accents on the production Tavascan SUV.
The Cupra Tavascan Extreme E Concept has a 54 kWh battery pack behind the cockpit, and it can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in approximately 4 seconds. Image Source: Volkswagen Group
Cupra has constructed much of the body structure using flax fibres, which come from the flax plant. The company says that it is a technology that one could quickly adapt to production vehicles. What that has to do with the production Tavascan SUV is something only time will tell.
Updated MEB platform
The Cupra Tarascan will ride on an updated version of the MEB platform, a step up from the underpinnings of the VW ID.5 and Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV. At the UBS Paris Electric Car Day on April 12, 2022, Dr Silke Bagschik briefed analysts about the MEB platform update. Dr Bagschik, the Head of Sales and Marketing for the ID. Family and also the Chief Marketing Officer for ID. Digital at Volkswagen said the updated version would allow a (WLTP) range of up to 700 km (431 miles).
The MEB platform update should be ready for commercialisation by the time of the Cupra Tavascan launch. Image Source: Volkswagen Group
In addition to a longer range, the updated MEB platform will enable DC fast-charging at a higher rate of more than 200 kW (current MEB platform limit: 170 kW). Acceleration will also be better, with dual-motor AWD configurations providing 0-62 mph sprint in approximately 5.5 seconds, an update that would be welcomed with open arms by the Cupra bosses.
77 kWh battery
The production Cupra Tavascan may come with three battery options, a 52 kWh unit consisting of eight cell modules, a 58 kWh unit consisting of nine cell modules, and a 77 kWh unit containing twelve cell modules. From the existing Volkswagen Group SUV models, we know that these battery packs currently have the potential to deliver a WLTP range of up to 346 km (VW ID.4), 390 km (Skoda Enyaq iV), and 537 km (Skoda Enyaq iV), respectively. Similar SUV coupe models can deliver a marginally higher range because of the better aerodynamics (due to a lower air drag coefficient). For example, the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV with the 77 kWh battery pack can travel up to 545 km on a full charge.
Powertrain choices could include various single motor and dual-motor options. The single motors could offer 109-150 kW of power and 220-310 Nm of torque. The dual motors could generate 195-225 kW of combined power and 460 Nm of combined torque. As for charging power, expect at least 200 kW.
By default, the Cupra Tavascan could be sportier than the ID.5 and the Enyaq Coupe iV. Being a Cupra, it would have to distinguish itself as a performance car. Expect different suspension tuning and more responsive steering to be among the changes. “We adapt the chassis and suspension and add different brakes and steering,” Wayne Griffiths said while discussing with Autocar how Cupra would make the Volkswagen sister models sporty. Griffiths is the CEO of Seat and Cupra. Driver engagement would be an essential part of the product mix at Cupra.
Further down the road, Cupra could introduce a high-performance variant of the Tavascan, drawing tech from the Cupra e-Racer and Cupra Extreme E Concept. When Autocar asked Griffiths about the future high-performance EVs, he said that Cupra has a link with motorsport. With this connection, it’s possible that the “spice” for high-performance EVs “could come from that.”
2024 launch
The Tavascan Concept debuted in September 2019 and received the green signal for production in early 2021. During the Seat Annual Press Conference 2021 (in March 2021), Griffiths announced that the company plans to launch a Cupra Tavascan SUV as its second EV in 2024.
Cupra will sell the Tavascan in the same way as the Born. Customers will configure and order the vehicle directly from Cupra, and the dealer will only handle the delivery. Additionally, expect a subscription option, under which customers will be able to use the Tavascan and related services for a fixed period with a monthly fee.
The designing and development of the Cupra Tavascan are taking place in Barcelona, Griffiths added. Road-testing has commenced, Carscoops revealed with a batch of spy shots on September 15, 2021. However, the pictures are of an early prototype wearing the VW ID.4’s body, which means we can’t infer any design features yet.
Availability outside Europe
Cupra has said that it will sell the Tavascan in more countries, including those outside Europe. This year, the Spanish brand will be available in Australia to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region (the Cupra range has been available in New Zealand for a few months). Cupra feels the high middle-class income and the progressive Australian society suit its brand.
Cupra in Australia
According to a report from whichcar.com.au, Cupra plans to pitch itself as a brand that deals in performance vehicles from the outset. Yet, eco-friendliness is a prime focus from the get-go. So, while it will enter the new market with three internal combustion engine models, it will offer two of them with plug-in hybrid technology right from launch.
Later, the Cupra Born will make it to Australia, as the brand’s Australian Director Ben Wilks says that bringing that EV there “is a matter of when and not if.” As for the future Cupra EVs, Wilks expects the Cupra Urban Rebel to be an “exciting” product for Australia and the Tavascan to have an “enormous appeal.”
China
The Cupra Tavascan will also be available in China, said a report from Spanish motoring site motor.es in September 2021. Cupra became a brand from a sub-brand of Seat in 2018. However, neither Cupra nor Seat is present in China. Seat planned to break into the Chinese market by 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic may have jeopardised that plan.
This year, Volkswagen Anhui (formerly JAC Volkswagen) revealed in a presentation (view the slide on Twitter) that China will get a Cupra electric SUV and a Cupra electric sedan based on the MEB platform in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Could the SUV model be the Cupra Tavascan? If so, the Chinese launch would precede the European launch.
Cupra EV strategy
Cupra aims to become an EV-only brand by 2030. By September 2021, nearly three years since the launch of its first model, the Ateca, cumulative sales had crossed six figures. On November 29, 2021, Le Monde reported that the cumulative sales had reached 116,000 units. Cupra expects the Born EV to double its sales by 2022, and the Tavascan, being the SUV, should be a more significant contributor to the tally. The new brand has established a presence in main European markets like Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, and France.
Cupra is now present in Mexico, Israel, and Turkey, too. It won’t be a walk in the park to achieve the 100% electrification goal by 2030 as some of these markets are behind the curve on EV adoption, but the Spanish brand that is positioned between high-volume generalists and premium makers will no doubt strive to realise the goal.
Cupra sales in 2021
Despite the semiconductor crisis, Cupra closed 2021 by reviving its sales to pre-pandemic levels. Compared to 2020, sales tripled, reaching a volume of 79,300 vehicles, which translates to an impressive 189.4% growth. In 2020, the brand managed to sell only 27,400 units. What’s also noteworthy is that 41% of Cupra sales were electrified vehicles.
3,300 units of the all-electric Cupra Born were delivered to customers in 2021, kickstarting a promising journey for the Spanish company’s electric aspirations. In 2022, the brand will introduce the Born with new battery capacities (45 kWh, 58 kWh and 77 kWh) to rope in a broad spectrum of customers while expanding its sales footprint.
Cupra Tavascan FAQs
What is the Cupra Tavascan release date?
Cupra will launch the Tavascan electric crossover in the first half of 2024, positioning it above the Born.
Which models will be Cupra Tavascan rivals?
With its streamlined body, the Cupra Tavascan will compete with Volkswagen’s ID.5 and Skoda’s Enyaq Coupe iV.
Featured Image Source: Volkswagen Group
Keyword: Cupra Tavascan: Everything we know as of April 2022