Cupra has started production of the Born fully electric car, which opens for orders in November.

The Cupra Born is being produced at the Zwickau facility in Germany – the Volkswagen Group’s first production plant for 100% electric vehicles

Based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform that’s also used for the Volkswagen ID.3, the Born was originally first revealed at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show as the SEAT El-Born but instead has been reconfigured as an electric hot hatch by the group’s sporty Cupra brand.

It’s a major model for Cupra – the carmaker anticipates Born will increase the brand’s share to 20% of the company’s global sales and play a key role in reducing CO2 emissions. It will also spearhead plans announced at the Munich Motor Show for Cupra to become a fully electric brand by 2030.

Designed to provide “the perfect match between electrification and performance”, the Cupra Born is being produced at the Zwickau facility in Germany – the Volkswagen Group’s first production plant for 100% electric vehicles – alongside other group electric vehicles that also use the MEB platform. These include the Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4, and the Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron. The plant has a daily output of up to 1,400 vehicles and annual capacity of around 330,000 electric cars.

Cupra will coincide the opening of order books for Born with the launch of its new agency model, a new distribution strategy that it says will engender a different customer relationship. Customers will also have the option to lease the Born through a subscription service.