Seat and Cupra want to ‘electrify Spain’ with urban EVs

“The smaller the cars are the bigger the challenges get. So obviously, the battery technology and battery cost have to improve," explains Cupra boss Wayne Griffiths.

"We can’t fall into the trap of the old world with small cars meaning small size is small money. We have to break that with the small electric car.”

The times are a’changing. Electric car sales are on the rise, but many of them are two-tonne SUVs that are about as city-friendly as a giant green radioactive sea-lizard. What if you want, we dunno, a small electric city car?

Seat has the Mii electric (pictured), but Griffiths says this rebadged VW e-Up isn’t necessarily the future for electric urban mobility.

“I think the next big game changer for the big volumes coming in will be the urban electric vehicles. That’s something we want Seat to play a key role in, to electrify Spain. But also for the brand Cupra to come up with a Cupra electric car for urban use as well.

"From a Cupra perspective, the challenge is convincing people that EVs don't have to be just rational. They can be very emotional and sporty, and can prove that there's no contradiction between electrification and performance.”

And what of car-sharing, much-touted as the future for city-clicking transport in the future?

“To do the car sharing thing, to make money from a very low cost solution, there's no brand identity. The motivation for car-sharing is to get from A-to-B as easily and cheaply as possible.

“We are more into looking at offering mobility solutions for the younger next generation that are flexible in terms of things like subscription. So, pay us if you want the car for six months. You’re not tied into a long-term lease.”