Volkswagen to sell CUPRA Tavascan in China to compete with Nio and BYD

The Volkswagen Group plans to market the CUPRA Tavascan in China , but not under the Cupra brand . Rather, this coupe-style midsize SUV will be the first model in a new lifestyle-focused sub-brand to appeal to younger buyers, similar to Cupra in Europe .

By launching this new Volkswagen sub-brand or label , the group hopes to reverse the downward trend in its market share in China. This means that Cupra will not be launched as a separate brand in China, as creating a new brand from scratch would be too expensive.

The Volkswagen Group introduced the Jetta brand to the Chinese market in 2019, with a range of SEAT models , such as the SEAT Ateca and the latest version of the SEAT Toledo , hoping to provide a low-cost option. However, these brands failed to break through, as did the Skoda brand which was launched more recently. Despite their efforts, Jetta and Skoda failed to achieve a market share above 1% in China.

Volkswagen, a local brand

The German group prefers to adopt a strategy of associating its new brand with Volkswagen, a brand with a long history in China (it was the first Western brand to produce in China in 1984), and to use a model manufactured locally. This will appeal to Chinese customers and will undoubtedly be a commercial advantage for this new brand.

Competing with rivals such as Nio and BYD , the Volkswagen Group must capitalize on its historical legitimacy as an almost local brand and offer a national product, a selling point that is increasingly important for Chinese customers.

It should be remembered that the Cupra Tavascan , which shares Volkswagen's MEB platform with the Skoda Enyaq Coupé IV and the Volkswagen ID.5 , will be the first model produced by the German group in its new factory in Anhui (China) . Under the CUPRA brand , 70,000 units per year will be exported to Europe, Mexico and Australia.

The Anhui Volkswagen plant , with an annual production capacity of 350,000 units, will be able to produce several models based on the MEB platform, as well as a dedicated line for models based on the group's SSP platform from 2026. In addition, Volkswagen has built an R&D center next to the factory, which covers nearly 200,000 square meters and includes more than 10 km of test roads. This center will be used for performance testing and functional verification of electric car hardware, as well as for the development of software applications.

By adopting this strategy, Volkswagen aims to strengthen its commitment to China and to become an increasingly local brand, even fully integrated in this market. This move is similar to that undertaken by Audi , another iconic brand in China, which recently inaugurated a factory in Changchun and an R&D center . Among the models that will be produced there is the future Audi A6 Avant e-tron , which will be based on the PPE platform of high-end cars, developed with Porsche .