Cupra Born launch confirmed! New halo will deliver "performance with electrification" - and it could be Australia's best-value EV

Australia is set to welcome a new all-electric halo vehicle, with the Cupra Born EV set to hit dealership in early 2023.

Cupra's answer to vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 Performance – or an electrified hot hatch – will act as a performance headline act for the new brand in Australia, with the fastest and most powerful model all but assured to land in Oz.

In Europe, the Born has three powertrain options (110kW, 150kW and 170kW), and the choice of rear-wheel drive (RWD) or all-wheel-drive (AWD), and three battery choices (45kWh, 58kWh and 77kWh).

While Cupra is yet to confirm exactly which models will arrive in Australia, it has confirmed that the most powerful model, which generates a thumping 170kW, "best represents where we're going with the Cupra brand in Australia".

In better news still, the brand says it still expects the Cupra Born to wear price tag in the $50k range – though most likely at the upper end of that scale – which would represent strong value in the EV space.

For perspective, the Kia EV6 starts at around $68k, the Ioniq 5 starts at around $72k, and the Tesla Model 3 starts at around $64k.

In fact, only the Polestar 2 can genuinely claim to be a premium vehicle at less than $60k, with the Swedish-Chinese brand kicking off at $59,900. The Nissan Leaf e+ is likely its closest competitor size-wise, and lists at $60,490.

It would also make the Cupra Born eligible for the various subsidies offered across Australia.

The brand today confirmed that Cupra’s first fully electric model will go into production for Australia in the last quarter of 2022, and will go on sale here in early 2023.

"Cupra’s first fully electric model….will go into production for Australia in the last quarter of this year, and will start deliveries early 2023," the brand's president and CEO, Wayne Griffiths, said today.

"The Cupra Born is a car that in its every aspect embodies the visual and dynamic aesthetic that sets our brand apart.

"The car is set to be the impulse for a new generation of Aussie car lovers, and to prove that performance and electrification can be a perfect match."