Cupra prides itself on being a rebel in the automotive industry, unashamedly chasing polarising designs. “When you want to create something unique with a strong personality, you cannot please everyone,” Jorge Diez, head of SEAT Design, told journalists at a recent media event. “Pleasing everyone means losing your identity, your soul.” By chasing the move to electrification, Cupra is very much falling in line with most of its compatriots, but on its own terms.
Electrification meets performance
Cupra started as SEAT’s high-performance motorsport range and has been pushing hard to build a solid name for itself since it launched as a standalone brand five years ago. The timing could have been difficult: it was based on a performance, sporty and driver-focussed mentality at a time when the industry was turning to sustainability, automation and service. But Wayne Griffiths, Chief Executive of both Cupra and SEAT, forged a new path that aims to combine these trends.
