Future of Cupra revealed: Raval hatch, facelifted Born and flagship SUV incoming
We exclusively talk to CEO Markus Haupt about his upcoming electric cars – and the conditions needed to make them sell
Two new electric hatchbacks will make 2026 a pivotal year for Cupra, as it seeks to kick on from delivering its one-millionth car and setting a new annual sales record of 328,800 units (up 32 per cent). Not bad for an eight-year-old car company.
We’ve spent some exclusive time with new CEO Markus Haupt to discuss how Cupra got here – and what’s coming next. He’s winding down at the end of a huge day: the official opening of its battery assembly plant at SEAT-Cupra’s HQ in Martorell, Barcelona. He’s been glad-handing the president of Catalonia and Spain’s minister for industry, as well as Volkswagen group bigwigs.
It’s an emotional moment for the executive, whose family moved to Barcelona when he was eight and who started his career at SEAT in 2001. As head of production and logistics, he steered the four-year mission to create the battery facility on a cliff towering over the 600,000-capacity assembly plant. Finished packs – some 1,200 per day initially – will then abseil down a tunnel to the line below, where they’ll be fitted to the VW ID.Polo and the Cupra Raval.
The sporty Spanish supermini carries a huge weight of expectation. Affordable, made-in-Europe EVs are still relatively rare, and Spain – where cost-conscious cars dominate the market – is lagging behind the electrification average, along with Italy. Could the Raval power Cupra’s electric mix from 24 per cent last year to one-third, the quota required to pass the UK’s ZEV mandate target in 2026?
“The Raval must bring us up, because it's the only way that we are complying with our CO2 objectives,” says the boss. “In cities, where [emissions] are even more important, we are really confident this car can be our gamechanger.”
Pro-EV policies make the UK a leading light
Does Haupt think the UK is a policy leader, with subsidies to stimulate demand and quotas to promote supply? “Yes, I would say it is, because it goes exactly in the direction we need. The UK is a strong market for us.” Brits bought 41,200 Cupras last year, though that is a distant second to 103k sold in Germany.
“[We need] to go to the markets and fight for an increase in EV [sales]. We see that some countries are struggling with the speed of EV [adoption], and this is something we need to change.”
The SEAT-Cupra boss is very clear that the European Commission and individual countries must enact policies that promote decarbonisation – and stick with them. He cites the just-announced Spain Auto 2030 as a good example, with its mix of EV subsidies, charging infrastructure support and EV awareness campaigns.
“We want to impose the speed [of transition] together with governments, but customers are not accepting that speed. This is the biggest issue. I think Europe is maybe creating confusion for the customer: in some countries, you have aid to buy an electric car on Tuesday; on Wednesday, you wake up and it’s gone. Also, electricity prices are changing rapidly. [All] this affects buyers’ confidence to choose an EV.”
Revamped Cupra Born in affordable EV push
Pushing for EV adoption is one of Haupt’s key priorities for 2026, along with delivering the new electric cars.
“We are coming also with the Born [facelift],” he confirms. This will refresh the front and rear ends, implant Cupra’s latest triangular headlamp pattern and – crucially – introduce a lower-cost, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack. This should help profitability and also give Cupra more flexibility to compete with Chinese EVs’ aggressive pricing.
But the all-new Raval is an even bigger deal. It’s a member of Volkswagen group’s ‘electric urban car family’ along with its ID.Polo sister hatch, and two small SUVs, one from Volkswagen, the other the Skoda Epiq. By spinning four EVs off one components set and industrialising the production and battery assembly in Iberia, Volkswagen has saved €100s of millions in development costs.
“Our margins in [electrified] cars are not as good as in full combustion cars,” explains Haupt. “So one of the things we will concentrate on in 2026 and ‘27 is to improve the competitiveness to reduce the cost.”
The Raval hatchback: “with a go-kart feeling”
The great news will be lower prices for consumers: when the cheapest LFP versions are rolled out, the Raval will start around £25,000 – some £10,000 cheaper than the current Born’s list price.
Expect these entry-level cars to have around 130bhp, though Cupra is launching with higher performance versions – 208bhp Dynamic and 223bhp VZ Extreme – to match its sporty positioning. These cars have sports suspension, quick steering and NMC batteries for “more power, more range” says the boss, with up to 280 miles in Dynamic trim. “It’s super sporty, with a go-kart feeling,” reckons Haupt.
The Raval will be the first urban EV to market – even ahead of dominant Volkswagen – with the world premiere in March and UK deliveries scheduled for September.
Could Cupra launch a small electric SUV?
The new model-planning that outlined the urban EV strategy is incredibly tight. “This is one platform for different cars, [but] we need to go in different ways to not go to the same customer,” explains Haupt. “We thought a hatchback gives you a much more sporty vision than an SUV, fitting better to what we want at Cupra.”
But could Cupra also launch a sportier take on the Epiq or VW ID.Cross SUVs?
“We have a limited investment capacity,” says the softly-spoken boss in his hybrid German-Spanish accent. “The Raval is a €3-billion investment, and now our efforts need to concentrate on making it a success story, together with the rest of the portfolio and the [facelifted] Born. But we will keep looking to determine which are the right models for the future.”
One model that’s almost certain to come is the flagship Tindaya SUV – but it could be a long wait.
Cupra Tindaya: where family SUV meets Batmobile
“The Tindaya is not a dream: it’s something that we want to make reality,” says the boss. Cupra presented the wild-looking, 4.72m-long SUV concept at last autumn’s Munich Motor Show. In what way does it represent Cupra’s future?
“First: it’s the new design language for Cupra, which you will see in future models coming.” Though the boss admits it hasn’t influenced the revised Born. “Secondly, while this is a show car, we will try to maintain as much as possible and go to a serious model with it. It’s part of our plans.”
Haupt predicts the likely introduction is around 2030 – when the Volkswagen Group’s all-new SSP vehicle platform is ready to underpin it. The show car featured a range-extender hybrid powertrain, with the 1.5-litre petrol engine charging the battery, which feeds motors front and rear for a punchy 489bhp. Is this powertrain feasible?
“In this changing environment, the best choice is to develop the car to be able to be flexible in terms of powertrain. It could be a pure EV, it could also have a range extender or combustion. We don’t want to define ourselves now, because [things are] changing so fast.”
Geopolitical issues have rocked Cupra’s growth plans
Cupra conceived the Tindaya as a breakout car to launch the brand in North America. But the uncertainty caused by President Trump’s tariffs triggering a demand for more group US production capacity (with Porsche and Audi no doubt ahead of Cupra in the queue), has put the plan on ice.
“Did we say ‘bye, bye’ to the US completely?” asks the boss. “No. We just postponed the decision. We’ll wait to see developments over the [coming] years.”
It’s not the first time Cupra has been burnt by geopolitical issues: the Tavascan is built in China, and the Spanish had to lobby hard to successfully overturn European import duties on the EV.
How fast has Cupra grown – and what’s the secret of its success?
Haupt was head of VW Group’s production planning in 2018, when then-SEAT boss Luca de Meo was hatching the plan for a spin-off premium brand to tackle the Spanish outpost’s chronic unprofitability.
“I know the story very well, because I [was based] in Wolfsburg and they came to see us. [Some people said] ‘Okay, these guys are completely crazy!’ It was a very brave decision.”
And it’s been a resounding success, with Cupra growing from 15,000 cars in 2020 to almost 330,000 last year. And, significantly, Cupra overtook SEAT sales. Haupt thinks Cupra’s success is based on its eye-catching designs, high-quality car platforms shared with other Volkswagen Group brands and brand “ecosystem with music, with sports, with culture”.
Cupra’s brand promise is to offer ‘tribe’ members access to sports events and gigs, often hosted at its urban stores which it dubs ‘city garages’. The sole UK garage is in Manchester, deliberately chosen as a place where sport and music with a global following are immersed in the cultural fabric. Merchandising collabs – Harper Collective luggage, health drinks – and partnerships with FC Barcelona and Catalonian music star Rosalia help build awareness.
The upshot is a buyer with an average age of 43, and minimal cannibalisation of Audi, claims the boss. “They come from BMW, from Alfa. Maybe this is something [the group] was missing: a different car with good technology.”
Consultants Interbrand reckon SEAT’s spin-off brand is worth €2-billion. “We would never have [expected] that five years ago. Seven years, seven models, 1 million cars – I think this is an amazing story. And now we need to keep [up] the momentum.”
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