Cupra kicks off production of the all-electric Tavascan in China

Volkswagen started production of the second electric model from its Cupra brand in China. The Cupra Tavascan, based on the Group's MEB platform, is now being built in Anhui and will be exported to European markets.

The first units came off the production line in the last days of December 2023. It is not clear how many the carmaker plans to build in 2024, but according to earlier reports, VW wants to sell more than 70,000 units of the Cupra Tavascan annually.

Cupra, a sub-brand of Volkswagen’s Seat brand, presented the Cupra in April 2023. The EV will be available with an output of 210 or 250 kW. The latter has a dual-motor and all-wheel drive. Until now, the electric motor used in the Cupra Born, for example, produced 150 kW. The new generation APP550, first introduced in the VW ID.7, has an output of 210 kW.

The 250 kW includes the system output of the additional drive unit on the front axle. The front motor (still an asynchronous motor) has an output of up to 80 kW, but the system output is limited in combination with the battery.

Officially, the EV is manufactured by Volkswagen Anhui, a joint venture between Volkswagen and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC) established in 2017. The production facility was completed in December 2022. The new Anhui plant, controlled by Volkswagen, is the Group’s third production facility for all-electric vehicles in China after the Anting (SAIC VW) and Foshan (FAW-VW) plants. However, there are two significant differences here compared to Anting and Foshan: Firstly, the Wolfsburg-based company took over the majority of the JAC-Volkswagen joint venture in 2020 and renamed it Volkswagen Anhui – VW thus controls the plant, in contrast to the partnerships with SAIC and FAW.

According to a 2022 report by Bloomberg, Cupra is building the Tavascan in China because capacity in Europe is limited. The brand’s first electric model, the Cupra Born, is manufactured in Zwickau.

In November of last year, Volkswagen (Anhui) Components (VWAC) also announced the production of its high-voltage battery systems, which it will supply to the neighbouring vehicle plant. The initial capacity of 150,000 to 180,000 units is much lower than that of the plant, which can churn out up to 350,000 vehicles per year.

cnevpost.com