"We're bringing the passion": Why Cupra says you'll buy a Born EV over cars like the Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2 or Kia EV6

The Cupra Born will inject a sense of excitement into an EV segment sometimes lacking in driver fun and engagement, says the brand's Head of Product and Planning in Australia, Jeff Shafer.

Asked why Australians would choose the incoming Born EV over its competitors in our market, Mr Shafer says Cupra's "focused and clear vision" is all about passion and driver enjoyment.

"I think Cupra is bringing a very specific, very focused and clear vision of what we see as the future of motoring, and the future is in the EV space," he says.

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"But it is still motoring, and motoring means it’s about the driver and driver enjoyment, and we want to bring the passion you feel in a combustion-engine car into the EV space.

"I think some other brands have a different vision of the future when it comes to EVs – quite austere and about moving from A to B. This (Born) is still about the pleasure of driving."

The Cupra Born EV set to hit dealership in Australia in early 2023, with the brand's first full-electric vehicle to deliver a whopping 170kW and a rear-drive architecture.

The brand says it still expects the Cupra Born to wear price tag in the $50k range – though most likely at the upper end of that scale – which would represent good value in the EV space.

The Kia EV6 starts at around $68k, the Ioniq 5 starts at around $72k, and the Tesla Model 3 starts at around $64k. The Polestar 2's price has also just increased, with the cheapest model now starting at $63,900.

So the Born should be comparatively cheap, and Cupra promises the EV hot hatch will be plenty cheerful, too.

"When you drive it should spark something, and that's what we want to bring into the EV generation. Just because the technology beneath you has changes doesn’t mean that feeling should change," Mr Shafer says.

"That’s what we’ll bring to the EV space, and that’s different to some of the other brands out there."

Cupra is Australia's newest car brand, with the Spanish arm of the VW Group launching with a three-model line-up in June, ahead of the Born's arrival early next year.

The Born is the only pure EV among the new-model group, but Mr Shafer says the brand is transitioning to an electric vehicle company "very quickly".

"We will see (electrification) happening very quickly for Cupra. We have a lot of product coming over the next few years, and it’s overwhelmingly electric," he says.

"There’s the Tavascan, which is a fully electric SUV. There's the UrbanRebel, which is a full-electric small crossover. There have been a couple of teasers of electrified models, and I think it will happen quite quickly."