Life left in the PHEV? 2025 Cupra Terramar plug-in coming to Australia, but ultimately sporty electric vehicles are the goal

Speaking to CarsGuide at the launch of the Cupra Born all-electric hatchback, Cupra executives have confirmed the upcoming Terramar SUV will be its last vehicle to be equipped with a combustion engine.

However, local product planner Jeff Shafer predicts the Terramar SUV will be as far out as late 2025, landing after the Tavascan EV and before the Urbanrebel hatch.

Would this make it too late to introduce a plug-in hybrid to a rapidly electrifying market? When asked, the brand’s global head of sales, Kai Vogler said plug-ins still have a role to play, at least for the near future.

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“We clearly, in the long run, have a clear strategy to go all-electric,” he said. “In the past you might say plug-ins are probably a bridging technology for people who just want to experience electric driving, but now with PHEVs reaching 100km of electric driving range, like, for example in the new Terramar… I think now PHEVs have a licence to stay a bit longer.

“It gives you that perfect combination of both worlds, you have the electric for short-distance travelling, which can be sustainable, but also the option to drive those long ranges when needed.”

Vogler also said plug-in hybrids synced up nicely with Cupra’s sporty DNA, despite their compromises.

“I think you get a boost from the plug-in hybrid because they can be quite nice in terms of driving behaviour and acceleration,” he said.

“I think there’s a certain chance we will see them staying, but at a much lower percentage than battery electrics. I’m quite optimistic we will see quite a few of these on the road.”

The Urban Rebel concept was previewed earlier in 2022.

Vogler said Australia was a key market for the brand early in the plan for many reasons, but primarily because we have an international reputation as a make-or-break market.

“I would say the [local] feedback is positive. That Cupra is a sporty, emotional brand. This has been responded to well, actually the same as it has been in Europe,” he said.

“This is great for us, because we said: ‘We’ll go to Australia because it’s not an easy market’. It’s not easy for a newcomer to enter. Some would say: ‘Why not choose an easy market’, but no. These guys [Australia] love sporty cars, they love horsepower, they love emotional vehicles. It should work for Cupra, and it is.”

Unlike some brands though, which have noted Australia’s resistance to electric vehicles and plug-ins, Vogler said Cupra has seen the opposite response locally so far.

Plug-in hybrids synced up nicely with Cupra’s sporty DNA.

“The openness to change in Australia, it was one of these ideas we built together with our Australian colleagues, this market has an openness to new technologies, to new brands. This combination made launching Cupra here the right decision,” he said.

Despite that, don’t expect a dual-cab ute to launch from the brand as an Amarok spin-off, as the brand’s visiting Spanish executives were surprised by how prolific utes are in the streets of our capitals. 

While Vogler said “we’d never rule out anything”, he said “the ultimate sports car” is still the dream for the Cupra brand - as hinted at by the Darkrebel concept.