The Cupra Born is locked and loaded for an Australian launch, and now we have an idea of what the electric hatch might cost when it goes on sale.
Expected to hit Australian shores either late 2022 or early 2023, the Born will be the fourth Cupra model in the local line-up.
Similar to Volvo sister-brand Polestar, Cupra has been spun off from the Spanish Seat marque under the massive Volkswagen Group umbrella.
Cupra has announced pricing for the Born in another right-hand drive market, the United Kingdom, providing an idea of how it might be positioned in Australia.
The opening price for the Cupra V1 grade is £33,735 which equates to $62,383 in Australian money. Mid-grade V2 is priced at £34,190 ($63,244) and the range-topping V3 is £37,375 ($69,114).
Of course, this this is speculative pricing purely based on the UK 58kWh, 150kW grades only and will likely differ when it goes on sale in Australia.
But, if local pricing does line up with the UK, that puts the Born in the crosshairs of the freshly launched Polestar 2.
The Polestar is priced from $59,900 to $69,900 before on-road costs across three grades.
It will also face off with the Tesla Model 3 that starts from $59,900 and tops out at $85,900.
Other potential rivals include the Mini Electric hatch ($55,650-$62,825), Mazda MX-30 ($65,490), and the Hyundai Kona Electric ($54,500-$64,000).
There are a bunch of other EVs on the horizon that could also be seen as competition, including the Kia EV6, Toyota BX4X and related Subaru Solterra.
Competition will also come from within the Volkswagen Group stable, with the Skoda Enyaq set to land around the same time, followed by Volkswagen’s first all-electric ID model that’s expected to be the ID.4 SUV.
All the VW Group product mentioned rides on the same MEB pure electric platform.
The Born is most closely related to the VW ID.3 hatchback that is yet to be confirmed for Australia given the enormous demand the car is experiencing in Europe.
The Cupra is available in Europe as single motor rear-wheel drive or dual motor all-wheel drive. The single motor variant has a power output of 110kW and the flagship dual motor pumps out 170kW/380Nm, but it’s unclear if Australia will be offered the latter. In between is a 150kW version too.
The entry level 45kWh, 110kW variant has a driving range of about 340km, while a long range 77kWh battery version offered overseas has a range of 548km.
Standard gear in the UK-market Born V1 includes 18-inch alloy wheels, rain sensing wipers, LED head and tail-lights, 5.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 12-inch multimedia system, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and start, heated leather sports steering wheel, lane assist and driver fatigue detection.
Cupra is set to launch the Ateca and Formentor SUVs in 2022 as well as the Leon hatchback. The former two will be offered with plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Keyword: Is this how much the 2022 Cupra Born will cost? Electric hatch could rival Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 on price in Australia