WAYNE GRIFFITHS, CUPRA CEO AND SEAT SALES AND MARKETING VICE-PRESIDENT

What was behind the decision to launch the El-born as a Cupra and not a Seat model?

“I don’t think we will lose anything by launching it as a Cupra. I think we’ve been able to differentiate the car more in terms of design – make the car much more provocative, more sporty, more sophisticated. It’s a win-win for customers and dealers.”

How much work went into turning the Seat concept into the Cupra production car? “We started very, very soon after the concept was revealed. Then the decision to not do both versions happened during the project, quite early. We’ve been working on it for more than 18 months – new design, interior and exterior. We’ve specifically developed the steering and driving dynamics. With Dynamic

Chassis Control, we’ve done a specific application to make it even sportier.”

Will there be more affordable versions?

“I think it will still be at an accessible price for an electric car. The differentiation with electric cars in the future won’t be the same as combustion engines, although the size of the battery can be. Giving the Cupra a 500km [310-mile] range was important as that’s what our customers are asking for.”

Does this mean Cupra has become the growth focus between the two brands?

“We will be investing

€5 billion [£4.5bn] in both brands, in electrification and technology. We’ve just invested €1bn [£0.9bn] in the new Seat Leon. We will be spending money on both brands because one isn’t there to substitute the other. They have totally different purposes, different positioning, different types of cars, different design. They complement each other.

“We have a limited amount of investment and we have to share that across the brands. And we’ve done a good job with Seat, moving it in the last five years from being quite irrelevant in terms of market share to become the fastest-growing brand in Europe with a market share of more than 3%.”