The upcoming Cupra Tavascan electric crossover won’t be built in Europe, with production instead confirmed for China.
“The Anhui factory was the plant with the right capacity and technology at the time of production planning,” the Volkswagen Group said in a statement published by Automotive News Europe.
The Tavascan will be exported out of China to markets like Europe, but the company says it has no plans to export any other Cupra models from there.
The company is currently working on its five-year financial plan and determining which models which will be built in which factories, with decisions impacted by the launch of its software platforms.
2022 Tavascan concept
The Group’s software division, Cariad, has experienced significant growing pains that have led vehicle launches, like the upcoming Porsche Macan EV, to be delayed.
The lack of European production indicates the Tavascan will also be exported from China to Australia. It’s due here in 2025.
Cupra will be the latest European brand to export vehicles from China to both Europe and Australia. BMW is another with its iX3, as is (part) Chinese-owned Polestar with its 2.
It won’t be the first Volkswagen Group product sold in Australia to be sourced from China. That title goes to the Volkswagen Polo Classic sedan, sold here from 2004 to 2005, which was actually the first Chinese-built car sold in Australia.
First Tavascan concept
Since then, multiple Chinese brands have entered the Australian market but non-Chinese brands have also exported vehicles from there. These include the likes of Tesla and Volvo.
The Tavascan will be the second EV sold by Cupra, and like the Born – due here next year – it’ll use the Volkswagen Group’s dedicated EV architecture, called MEB.
It’ll be launched in Australia alongside production versions of the electric UrbanRebel hatchback concept and the plug-in hybrid Terramar crossover.
In concept form, the Tavascan produced 225kW of power from its dual-motor powertrain and used a 77kWh lithium-ion battery pack, offering up to 450km of range.
Cupra Born
The sporty Spanish brand – which sits alongside Skoda, Volkswagen, and Audi in the Volkswagen Group – wants to sell 1600 cars in Australia in 2022, and plans to grow that to 7000 cars per year by 2025.
For context, that’s more cars than Land Rover sold here last year, and about as many as Renault did. It’s an ambitious target, as it took Skoda more than a decade to hit the 7000-sale target Down Under.
Cupra is also targeting five per cent of the EV market in Australia.
Cupra Formentor, Ateca and Leon 
Cupra Tavascan, Terramar and UrbanRebel
Using Australia as a beachhead, Cupra wants to expand its global presence and reach 500,000 annual sales worldwide in the medium term.
Cupra started off as a trim level of SEATs, with models like the Ibiza Cupra and Leon Cupra boasting sportier looks and extra performance.
The first models to feature Cupra as a brand name and not just a trim level were similarly fettled SEATs like the Leon and Ateca, but also the Formentor – a model unique to the brand.
The SEAT El-Born concept became the production Cupra Born, and the Tavascan and Terramar have been revealed exclusively as Cupras with no SEAT versions planned.
SEAT does continue to offer its own exclusive models, however. The Ibiza, Arona and Tarraco are the Spanish brand’s counterparts to the Volkswagen Polo, T-Cross and Tiguan Allspace, respectively.
