The Cupra Tavascan is an battery electric sports utility vehicle (

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon defini ...

) to be produced by

Volkswagen Anhui Volkswagen Group China (VGC; 大众汽车(中国)) is a division of the German automotive concern Volkswagen Group in the People's Republic of China. Volkswagen Group China enjoys sales of about 3.14 million cars (2017) in the Chinese market ...

, a joint venture between

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...

and Chinese company

JAC Motors JAC Motors (; officially Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer.

, and sold by

Cupra Cupra Racing, formerly known as SEAT Sport, is the high-performance motorsport subsidiary of the Spanish automobile manufacturer SEAT, founded in 1985, succeeding the "SEAT Special Vehicles department" which had been formed in 1971 with the mis ...

, a subsidiary of

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

. The

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

was first shown at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. In March 2021, it was confirmed that the vehicle would begin production, with the official launch taking place in April 2023.

Overview

Concept car

The Tavascan is based on the MEB Platform, which is designed for electric vehicles of the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

, of which the

Volkswagen ID.3 The Volkswagen ID.3 is a battery electric small family car ( C-segment) produced by Volkswagen since 2019. It is the first production car to utilize the MEB platform, and the first model of the ID. series. It was unveiled on 9 September 2019 at ...

is the first production vehicle to use it. The SUV receives two electric motors placed on the axles, enabling

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one ...

and providing a cumulative power of . The Tavascan's battery has a capacity of providing a range of .

Tavascan Extreme E

The Cupra Tavascan Extreme E was unveiled at the IAA Mobility Motor Show in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in September 2021. It was developed in collaboration with Abt Sportsline and will debut in the experimental

Extreme E Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness ...

off-road racing series.

Production version

Teaser images of Tavascan were shown in March 2023 in a video made in collaboration with Spanish singer-songwriter

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...

. The production version was officially unveiled on 21 April 2023. It features the same 82 kWh battery as the

Volkswagen ID.5 The Volkswagen ID.4 and Volkswagen ID.5 are battery electric compact crossover SUVs produced by Volkswagen. Based on the MEB platform, the ID.4 is the second model of the Volkswagen ID. series. The production version of the ID.4 debuted in Sept ...

, with the top spec having and a range of .

References

External links

Official website
{{SEAT Cars introduced in 2023

Tavascan Tavascan (Spanish: ''Tavascán'', Catalan: ''Tavascan'') is a village located in the province of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain. The village lies in a valley approximately 8 kilometres from the French border and 16 kilometres from the Andorran bo ...

Upcoming car models Electric concept cars Production electric cars