CUPRA Born enters series production at Europe's largest EV factory
CUPRA’s Born EV undergoing final inspection on the assembly line. Images: Volkswagen
The CUPRA Born is now rolling off the production line at Volkswagen Group’s electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Zwickau, Germany.
The Born is the fifth of six electric vehicles to be manufactured in the Zwickau plant, and follows series production of the Volkswagen ID.3/ID.4, Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron. The sixth model will be Volkswagen’s ID.5 crossover.
Volkswagen plans to eventually move production of the Born to its factory in Marotell, Spain, which also manufactures the Audi A1 Sportback, and a number of Seat models. According to CUPRA CEO Wayne Griffiths, “Producing our first 100% electric model in Europe's largest electric vehicle factory will provide valuable learnings as we look to build electric vehicles in Martorell from 2025 onwards. Our ambition is to produce more than 500,000 urban electric vehicles per year in Spain for different Group brands.”
Sharing its underpinnings with Volkswagen’s ID.3 compact electric vehicle, the Born sits on the MEB modular electric vehicle architecture, and offers customers a more design-focused and sporty option in the compact EV class.
The CUPRA Born is the brand's first model to follow a net CO²-neutral concept, whereby energy from renewable sources is used in the supply chain. Executives within the group are aiming to increase the CUPRA sales mix to 20% of Volkswagen Group’s overall sales and to reach new international markets.
The CUPRA Born will go on sale in November 2021 across Europe. The brand intends to enter the Australian market in 2022, though the Born will likely not arrive down under until 2023.
