Electric car sales in Australia have been crippled by tight supply. Cupra says it won’t be held back by the same issues when the Born launches in 2023.
The electric hatchback shares its MEB underpinnings with the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq, but will beat both to the Australian market. It’ll also beat the dimensionally-similar Volkswagen ID.3.
“The supply for the planned demand is secured, and our planned demand is quite ambitious,” Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths told media.
According to Mr Griffiths, the Australian team “shouldn’t doubt” Cupra can supply them “whatever they can sell for the Born next year”.
The Cupra Born on show at the Cupra City Garage in Sydney
The brand plans to be fully electric by 2030, and has teased a pair of electric models for 2025 in concept form already.
Cupra says it has 11,000 expressions of interest for its range from Australian customers, of which 30 per cent are for the Born.
Extrapolating those numbers, there are at least 3300 potential customers out there for car in 2023. Cupra Australia director Ben Wilks wouldn’t be drawn on how many Borns he thinks the brand could sell, but said it represents a “good opportunity”.
The best-selling electric car in Australia to date in 2022 is the Tesla Model 3, followed by the Hyundai Kona Electric.
Some of the biggest electric vehicle launches in Australia have been marred by poor supply, too. Kia can sell just 500 examples of the EV6 per year, while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is being sold online in small batches.
Volvo has struggled to meet supply for the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, and the 2022 Polestar 2 sold out earlier in the year.
The Volkswagen Group in particular has battled to get its latest, greatest electric cars to Australia. The Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4 have remained frustratingly out of reach for our market, as has the Skoda Enyaq.
Although the Enyaq and ID.4 have been confirmed for our market, they’re still at least 12 months away.
