The growth of Cupra goes through the United States market, an objective in which the Seat brand has been working for months and whose planning is already well advanced. The CEO of the company, Wayne Griffiths, has reaffirmed the intention to start selling Cupra vehicles in the North American country in the future, and also to manufacture them there taking advantage of the factories that the Volkswagen group has in it, as well as in Mexico. .
“We want to be a global brand and this means that you have to go to the United States; We are analyzing the strategy to enter there”, Griffiths explained this Monday in a meeting with journalists in Munich, within the framework of the international motor show that is being held this week in the city. The final decision on whether, indeed, Cupra disembarks in the United States or, on the contrary, parks the plans, will be made before the end of the year, according to the manager.
The arrival of Cupra in the United States has a double meaning. On the one hand, it would serve as a platform for the brand to expand into other markets in which it currently does not have a presence. On the other, it would boost the market share of its parent group in the country, with a meager 5% at present compared to 20% in China.
To do this, Griffiths considers that they have to develop new models of electric vehicles. “You have to look for cars that work in that market, large; the Cupra Raval, for example, would not work there ”, he commented. The company has already carried out market tests and has identified the states and areas of the country in which it could penetrate. The landing would be made selectively, almost surgically, not at the level of the entire United States.
He has also calculated the investment necessary to execute the operation, the sum of which he has not revealed. It will, however, be a “very important” game. The ability to finance it will depend in any case on the company's results. “To do something like this you have to earn money, and not just for a semester,” the CEO stressed. Seat earned 7.4 billion euros in the first half, with an operating profit of 371 million euros, thanks above all to the boost in Cupra sales. So far this year, Cupra has delivered 150,000 cars worldwide, 60% more than in the same period last year.
The brand plans new launches in the next two years. By 2024 it will begin to sell the Tavascan model, while the Raval will be commercialized from 2025.
Regarding the plans for the Seat factory in Martorell, Griffiths has reiterated the need for a second platform to arrive if “profitability objectives” are to be achieved, although there has not yet been a decision made. “The factory is quite full until 2030.” The Seat brand will continue to focus on combustion cars, which, in the manager's opinion, is an advantage. In the period of market transition towards electric cars, “flexibility” is required. “If the electric one doesn't start as planned, we have Seat's combustion cars,” he concluded.
