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The Cupra Born’s pricing puts it at the top end of the EV hatchback market.
Almost two years ago, Cupra – the performance offshoot of Spanish car firm Seat – unveiled its first electric car, the Born hot hatch.
The handsome plug-in was confirmed for a debut in New Zealand shortly afterwards, although updates since then have been sparse. Until now, that is, with Cupra finally detailing pricing for its EV debut.
The Born is priced from $79,900, meaning it narrowly qualifies for the government’s Clean Car Discount rebate incentive. Factoring in the $8,625 rebate, it means the Born is effectively priced from $71,275 not including on-road costs.
Meet the production Cupra Born, the first electric vehicle for the Spanish brand.
Order books for the model are now open, with online reservations priced at $1,000 a pop. Deliveries are set to commence between September and November, according to the Cupra website.
Cupra’s first standalone model was the Cupra Ateca, which debuted locally in 2019. The Formentor SUV coupe and Leon hot hatch and sportwagon joined the brand’s local line-up in late 2021.
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For the moment it appears that just one spec of Born is going to be offered in New Zealand, with options limited to colour choices. Each option is a no-cost selection, barring the nameplate’s hero colour, Aurora Blue, which costs an additional $850.
The Born’s pricing may raise some eyebrows, being priced much higher than other pure EV Euro hatches like the Fiat 500e and Opel Corsa-e, which both start at $59,990.
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The Cupra Born shares its platform with the Volkswagen ID.3, and features the same battery and electric motor as the upcoming ID.4.
It’s also more expensive on our side of the ditch than it is in Australia, where it’s priced from approximately $64,500.
The Born’s pricing puts it on almost equal footing with the Volkswagen ID.4. With both vehicles being products of Volkswagen Group, they each share the same battery and electric motor tech.
What separates the Born from the likes of the 500e and Corsa-e is its hot hatch segmentation. Unlike those models, it comes with a ‘full size’ 77kWh battery and a 170kWh electric motor.
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The Born is likely to be undercut on price by the Fiat Abarth 500e, although this is no surprise given the Abarth is less powerful and has a smaller battery.
Range is rated at a commendable 540km per charge, with the Born said to be able to do the 0–100kph sprint in 5.4 seconds.
The Born’s closest rival, the Fiat Abarth 500e, makes do with smaller 42kWh battery and a less powerful 113kW/225Nm electric motor. It has also yet to be priced for the New Zealand market.
The news means that New Zealand misses out (for now) on the Born’s more affordable, smaller battery derivatives. Overseas, the model is offered with a 45kWh battery and 58kWh battery, with each also featuring less power than the 77kWh model we’re set to get here.
