Cupra's small EV for 2025 to be called Raval

MILAN – Cupra’s small full-electric hatchback to be launched in 2025 will be called the Raval, after a neighborhood in Barcelona.

The first EV from Volkswagen Group’s sporty Spanish brand, the Born compact hatchback, was also named after a district in the city. Cupra’s main factory is in Martorell, west of Barcelona. 

The Raval was first shown in June 2022, as a concept, when it was called the Urban Rebel. The permanent name was revealed Thursday at the Barcelona auto show.

It will be built at Martorell alongside a VW brand sibling model, the ID2. Both cars will use Volkswagen Group’s MEB Small electric platform. However, the two cars are aesthetically different, with the ID2’s relatively conservative lines echoing the compact ID3, while the Raval is more performance oriented.

Another VW Group brand, Skoda, will also get a version.

The Raval will accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (0-62 mph) in 6.9 seconds, thanks to lightweight interior and exterior materials and a 166-kilowatt motor that delivers the equivalent of 226 hp. Maximum charging capacity is 120 kilowatts, and range will be 440 km, Cupra said last June.

The Raval’s styling is meant to reflect its performance, with two “tension lines” on the hood, bonnet, deep creases along the sides and a blacked-out A-pillar. The interior features gaming-like controls on the steering wheel. 

Seat and Cupra CEO Wayne Griffiths said the Raval is meant to appeal to Generation Z, the youngest cohort of drivers.

It will be Cupra’s third battery-electric model, following the Born in 2021 and the Tavascan compact crossover, which was unveiled in Berlin in April and whose deliveries will start in 2024.

Also on Thursday, Seat announced record operating profit for the first quarter of 2023, at 144 million euros, compared with five million euros in the first quarter of 2022. Revenue was 3.6 billion euros, 48 percent higher than the first quarter of 2022. Cupra began as a trim line of Seat and became its own sub-brand under former CEO Luca de Meo, now CEO of Renault Group.

Cupra is now Seat’s main growth driver, Seat said. Seat said Cupra sold 46,600 units during the first quarter of 2023, 83 percent more than in the same period in 2022. Seat and Cupra together sold 125,218 vehicles, VW Group said, a 37 percent improvement over 2022, with the Seat brand selling 78,618, a 9 percent increase.

When the Raval appears, it is likely to face competition from a number of performance or near-premium full-electric hatchbacks, including the Abarth version of the Fiat New 500, the coming Alpine A290 and the next full-electric Mini. Cupra has not announced prices.