7:17 am, September 10, 2025
Car manufacturers ‘need to work hand in hand with the government’ if they are to make a success of electric vehicles.
That’s according to Cupra’s interim CEO, Markus Haupt, who was speaking exclusively to Car Dealer as the Spanish brand launched a pair of new electric models at the Munich Motor Show.
‘We cannot work alone,’ Haupt told Car Dealer. ‘We need to work hand in hand with the government. We expect governments to help us, or to help our customers buy these cars and to help customers to have an infrastructure that makes these cars a reality.
‘We, as an industry and we (Cupra) as a company are doing our homework, investing billions in new technology and we expect the same from the governments.’
Cupra revealed a more in-depth look at the upcoming Raval, which was launched at a Volkswagen Group presentation alongside the Volkswagen ID. Cross and Skoda Epiq, with the three all being underpinned by the same platform, to achieve a more affordable price. The Rafal, for instance, is expected to cost around £27,000, making it the cheapest model in Cupra’s current line-up.
It’s a tactic which seems to be being deployed in the face of strong competition from Chinese brands – something which Haupt appears to welcome.
‘As in sports, you always observe what the others are doing. In football or 100-metre running, if you are in the front and you see a guy that is coming [up], you have to say, “oh, I need to change something”.
‘Having more competition, of course, brings you under pressure. In brings you into a tougher environment, but it also brings positive pressure to continue optimising your cars, to be more productive. We are not afraid.
‘We clearly have things they don’t have. We have an established dealer network. We belong to the Volkswagen Group, where we have lots of heritage. We have been able to create something [with the Raval] in seven years that I would say is a benchmark.
‘We also know that most of the Chinese brands are not earning money, they’re burning money. At the end, it’s a race and there will be some winners and some losers.’
More from the Munich Motor Show…
- ‘Europe isn’t ready to go electric-only in 2035’ says Skoda boss
- Here are all the important cars revealed at this year’s IAA Munich show
