Cupra has announced that it’s first pure-battery electric vehicle, the Born, has now sold over 500 units in Australia, making it the best-selling European EV in the market.
At the local launch last year before Christmas, about 400 units were made available for sale online. These were sold fairly quickly so the Cupra factory upped that number to 600 units, and then to 700.
Now the Volkswagen-owned brand has announced that of the 700 factory-allocated units, around 500 units have been sold. With this milestone reached, the ordering is now unrestricted.
“Customer response has been immediate, which has been recognised and rewarded by our factory with increasing allocations of a car in hot demand in other markets,” Cupra Australia Director, Ben Wilks said in a statement.
“To combine a long 500km-plus EV range with instant electric performance, and controllable dynamics through the sharp steering and rear-wheel drive chassis, places the Cupra Born in an exclusive part of the market.”
The Cupra Born – largely based around the parent company’s ID.3 – is the first car in Australia with 500km of range with a price starting with a five in front of it $59,990 before on roads). All in all, its 511 km of WLTP range is on offer from an 82 kWh battery pack.
This battery pack can be charged at an AC charger at up to 11 kW. Fast charging rates are also impressive at up to 170 kW. This battery powers a rear-mounted 170 kW motor.
The other unique part about this electric hatch is its hot-hatch credentials.
It can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7 seconds. That’s slower than Australia’s best-selling EV, the Tesla Model 3 but fast than Volkswagen’s own ID.4 which is currently not on sale in the local market.
Hot hatches are very popular with many brands wanting to be part of the market in Australia, including Cupra’s parent brand, Volkswagen with the ICE Volkswagen Golf R. The Born is the only electric offering in this segment.
The car is offered with 19 or 20-inch alloy wheels with an option to add performance Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.
Prices for the Born start at $59,990 before on-roads which makes this electric hatchback is a bit of a game changer given the range that it delivers. There are a number of lower-priced EVs in Australia that have much shorter ranges.
It also means that in various states and territories, the Cupra Born will also be eligible for state rebates of up to $3,000, as well as stamp duty exemptions that deliver a benefit nearly that much. with some up to $3,000 on cars under $68,000. In Queensland, this is up to $6,000 with recent changes to the subsidies.
According to FCAI, as of April, Cupra had delivered 31 of those over 500 sales to Australian customers. We look forward to seeing an increase in that in the coming months.
Across the ditch, Cupra has also started deliveries with 2 registrations noted in April’s EV sales data from NZTA.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.