Cupra boost from new medium SUV Terramar

Seat is culling Tarraco from its range, making way instead for Cupra’s new Terramar SUV, according to Autocar UK.

The Tarraco, a close relation to Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, has been on sale in Europe since 2018.

Seat said in a release: “The Seat Tarraco has been a success. But there will be no Tarraco successor.

“From mid-2024, we will focus on the new Cupra Terramar in the segment, and it will fill this space very well.

“The Tarraco will then be phased out; it will end its production by Q2 2024.”

The Terramar, which is a few cm shorter than the Tarraco, will go on sale with a range of mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid petrol powertrains. The PHEV evidently has an electric-only range of around 100km, putting it on a par with the new plug-in Passat and Superb estates from the VW Group.

The new SUV should ramp up Cupra’s sales numbers, targeting one of the market’s biggest-selling segments. Of note; it will be Cupra’s final combustion-engined car as it heads towards an all-electric future in 2030.

Seat, meanwhile, continues to rebound from the semiconductor shortage. The firm says sales of the brand grew by 24 per cent last year, reaching 288,400 vehicle sales for 2023.

It is set to update Ateca, Arona, Ibiza and Leon and will “continue offering plug-in hybrid and fuel-efficient cars until the end of the combustion era”.

Seat product is no longer imported into New Zealand, the distributor opting for Cupra models instead.