Cupra Born EV given official Australian launch date

The Cupra Born EV will launch in Australia in early 2023, after the new brand‘s first fully electric vehicle’s right-hand-drive production window was locked in for Q4 this year.

Built on the VW Group’s MEB platform (which underpins the VW ID family), the Cupra Born will be the last for four models to arrive for Australia’s newest brand, and the only all-electric offering for now.

According to the brand’s senior executives, the Born will marry “electrification and performance”, with at least one of the variants to be packing 170kW and rear wheel drive.

Those outputs, and the Born’s body shape, make it more of an electric hot hatch than the larger EVs that have launched of late — like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 — while its 6.6sec sprint to 100km/h is about on-par with the Golf GTI, too.

Cupra says the idea is to put fun into the EV drive experience with the Born, which will focus on equal parts efficient and engagement.

Which is why an e-Boost system allows it to produce 20kW more power than the VW ID.3, for 170kW in total, though only in limited bursts. Torque peaks at 310Nm.

There are two battery options available, though Cupra is yet to confirm which will land in Australia — a 58kWh battery for about 420km of WLTP range and a 77kWh battery with about 540km of range.

Pricing is also yet to be confirmed, though the brand has doubled-down on its promise that the vehicle will come in at under $60k, and even suggested that could include the hi-po models.

“The car is set to be the impulse for a new generation of Aussie car lovers and to prove that performance and electrification can be a perfect match,” says Wayne Griffiths, Cupra’s global chief.