Cupra to land in the Middle East after abandoning the US

MunichCupra rules out entering the United States market for the moment, as planned, due to the new situation in international trade. "[Leaving the US market] was a very tough but very mature decision," acknowledged the interim president of Seat and Cupra, Markus Haupt, in a meeting with journalists in Munich, although he was open to the possibility of returning to the market in the future. "We're not throwing in the towel," he added. However, the company's top executive has strengthened the brand's global focus, which is already present in fifty countries, and is already in talks to enter the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Regarding this desire to enter the Middle East—only with the Cupra brand, not with Seat—Haupt indicated that these are markets with significant economic growth, with many young people with purchasing power, and with many expatriates living there and already familiar with the brand. In fact, he indicated that the decision was made after being contacted by individuals, as well as companies and dealerships in the area. "It's a market with a lot of potential for us," he indicated.

Cupra has presented the Raval model at the Munich Motor Show, the IAA Mobility. This is the first 100% electric model to be manufactured at the Martorell plant, and will be launched in the first quarter of next year. Another compact urban car with the same platform, the Volkswagen ID Polo, will also be manufactured in Martorell. However, for the moment there is no intention to manufacture an electric model under the Seat brand. "Launching an electric car under the Seat brand now is not viable," Haupt remarked, although in the future, when electromobility becomes more widespread and manufacturing costs are reduced, there could be an electric Seat. "The day will come, I suppose it will," said the company's CEO.

Haupt also declined to set a date for when the group will assign a second electric platform at the Martorell plant, something unions consider essential to ensuring the industrial future. However, the Seat president indicated that "the future strategy involves having two platforms at the factory."

Chinese tariffs

Regarding the Chinese tariffs on the Tavascan model (Cupra's large electric vehicle manufactured in the Asian giant for the European market), the company's president said that "talks with the European Commission are going in the right direction." "It seems we're in the final stretch, and we're optimistic that a positive resolution will be reached," he added. These tariffs jeopardize the company's accounts, since if they are reflected in the price of the car, profitability falls, but if sales are stopped, to offset the company's overall emissions, fewer combustion-engine cars would have to be produced (and therefore sold).

Regarding the possibility of the European Union relaxing the deadlines for continuing to manufacture cars with combustion engines, Haupt has strengthened the commitment to electric cars, although he indicated that Seat and Cupra manufacture with all technologies—internal combustion, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids. "It's a situation of comfort, because we have a very wide range of offerings," he said. However, he has called on the authorities to "maintain a stable long-term decision-making environment."

He also welcomed the fact that Spain has returned the MOVES plan aid to electric cars, but, at the same time, he insisted on the need for, as in other countries, aid for electric cars to go directly to the buyer at the time of purchase, and for there to be other types, such as tax rebates.

In the heart of Munich, Cupra has presented the Tindaya, a prototype that shows where Cupra's design wants to go. "We want to show the next level of our design language," said Haupt, who is convinced that this prototype "will be a reality that could see the light of day at the beginning of the next decade."