A little known Spanish car brand focused on electric vehicles is preparing to sell its vehicles in the United States — turmoil regarding tariffs, trade and environmental policy notwithstanding.
Barcelona-based Cupra has already had talks with the Penske Automotive Group, the United States’ third largest dealer group with about 200 outlets. Penske also operates dealerships for dozens of brands ― including Cupra ― in Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
“Cupra aims to inspire the United States from its hometown of Barcelona, bringing its design led and performance driven cars to American roads,” the company said in a statement to the Free Press.
Easier said than done, but Cupra has made an impression in the crowded European market since Volkswagen’s Seat brand launched it in 2018. Seat, known largely for practical, affordable cars, created Cupra as a sporty sub brand. The result impressed VW brass in Germany so much that there’s talk Seat may wither away, replaced by the more stylish, profitable and technically advanced Cupra.
Hybrids and EVs with a Latin flair
Cupra sells a mix of electric, hybrid and gasoline vehicles in more than 40 countries, including Mexico, where prices start at just under $37,000 for a gasoline-powered Leon compact SUV. The brand hopes an emphasis on performance ― Cupra originated as the name of Seat’s racing team ― and style rooted in Barcelona’s history as a center of art, architecture and design will set it apart.
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“Cupra has a respectable following, but the challenges of the U.S. market are very difficult to overcome,” said S&P Global principal automotive analyst Stephanie Brinley. The United States’ huge size and population make it expensive to establish a new brand, both geographically and in shoppers’ minds.
Cupra has sold more than 800,000 vehicles so far.
The company’s U.S. focus will be on sporty, upscale EVs and hybrids, but Cupra may also offer some internal combustion models to generate sales and service volume.
“As the first new brand created within the Volkswagen Group, we offer an alternative to the next generation of U.S. car buyers,” the statement continued. “Positioned between the mass and premium segments, we are not based on legacy or tradition. We are an unconventional challenger brand.”
The brand plans to begin with sales in 20 states “strategically aligned with the Cupra brand.”
That presumably means states that encourage EV sales with incentives and emissions limits.
“Cupra is totally unknown to the U.S. population,” said Adam Bernard, principal of consultant AutoPerspectives. “It’s a blank slate. The brand doesn’t overlap with VW or Audi. Does VW want to spend a pile of money to establish an image for it?”
Cupra executives toured the Los Angeles auto show last November to size up the competition. After initial expectations sales would begin in 2027, the official target is now by the end of the decade.
The model line will include gasoline power, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles and extended range EVs with onboard gasoline-powered generators.
Cupra plans to build the vehicles at VW group facilities in North America. Current options for that include assembly plants in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Puebla, Mexico, and the Scout Motors plant under construction in South Carolina.
Constantly changing U.S. tariff policy will be considered, but won’t stop the brand.
“Cupra is monitoring developments closely and will comprehensively address the potential impact on supply chains and our production network,” the statement said.
Who will sell them?
VW infuriated many of its American dealers with plans to sell rugged Scout SUVs and pickups directly to consumers.
There’s no word on Cupra’s sales plan yet, but the overture to Penske is “obviously an attempt to shortcut” building a sales network, according to Brian Gordon, president of Dave Cantin Group, which advises dealerships. “A partnership with a large dealer network would be a strategic beachhead.”
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Spanish car brand Cupra has big plans to sell EVs and hybrids in US
