Volkswagen has not the best time in the USA right now. Although the sales are not terrible and Scout has some promise, it struggles to sell electric vehicles and its newest, the ID.Buzzis undoubtedly too late and too expensive. Although Volkswagen’s electric future is uncertain, it has decided to double down by potentially bringing a new EV-centric brand to the US, one that most American customers have never heard of: the Cupra.

Cupra is the spinoff of a sub-brand. It began as a high-performance model line for Seat, the Spanish car manufacturer under Volkswagen umbrella. There were some great high-performance cars with the Cupra nameplate, such as the Seat Leon Cupra R hot hatch. In 2018, VW chose to break the Cupra from Seat and focus its lineup around electrified, small crossovers. Of the brand’s seven models, only one, called the Ateca, is purely combustion-powered. However, Cupra doesn’t just plan to enter the US market in 2030 – it wants to bring a range of models with all kinds of powertrains, including plain old ICE.

Strangely, Cupra’s plans for the US the distribution is not quite ready. One of the models will be built at one of Volkswagen’s North American plants, but the brand has not said where any others will be built. Cupra is also partnering with Penske Automotive Group to help with distribution. Its official headquarters location and final model lineup in the US will be announced at a later date.

Most of the Cupra’s underpinnings come from its parent company, so you can expect any US-bound model to perform similarly, if not identically, to their VW-branded counterparts. However, Cupra has been tinkering with styling since becoming its own brand, in an attempt to attract younger buyers. Thomas Schäfer, the company’s CEO (and indeed CEO of VW’s global passenger car business), said at the LA Auto Show that its plan is working well, even describing it as “a very unique European phenomenon,” according to Car news.

But it seems that Schäfer is not content to stick to Europe. While Cupra has already expanded outside of Europe, into Australia and Mexico, it hopes to grow further. “Everybody needs to grow somewhere, have another leg to stand on, and Cupra is studying how to maybe get into other regions,” Schäfer said, according to reports in Los Angeles media. “North America is one.”

At first glance, Cupra offering rebadged Volkswagens in the US doesn’t seem like a good idea, given VW’s rocky position here. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be successful. Most customer complaints about modern VWs lie in their confusing user interface and bland styling. If Cupra can provide a shot of enthusiasm to attract younger customers – and many of its cars look good – with better interiors, there might be a chance those shoppers will come on board. Brands like Tesla and Rivian has proven that Americans are willing to give new, emerging brands a chance. Cupra might think: “Why not us too?”

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