Cupra Born and Formentor help secure UK fleet registration growth

Cupra grew its UK fleet registrations by 42% last year, against a backdrop of an overall decline in UK new car fleet sales.

The jump in fleet registrations for Cupra was in contrast to an overall 7.5% decrease in fleet registrations for 2022, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Cupra registrations were helped by the launch of the Cupra Born and the ongoing fleet appeal of Cupra Formentor, says the manufacturer.

Launched in 2018 as a stand-alone brand, the former Seat sub-brand saw overall registrations, including private sales, grow by almost 90% last year, with 14,383 units registered compared to 7,584 in 2021.

However, that was substantially down on the 27,400 vehicles it sold during 2020, showing how the semiconductor shortage has impacted production.

Richard Harrison, rand director at Cupra UK, said: “Cupra saw a significant increase in fleet registrations in 2022 – a year hampered by supply chain challenges that have been felt across the industry.”

He continued: “We have dedicated a tremendous amount of effort towards delivering an exceptional service to our fleet partners, not least by providing our first fully electric car Cupra Born.

“With new initiatives like the leasing company portal and the strong appeal of our exciting Cupra range, we intend to continue our ambitious growth within the fleet sector throughout 2023.”

The Cupra Born is an appealing option to many fleets, thanks to a combination of strong residual values (RVs) and low running costs. For example, it has a total cost of ownership (TCO) of just 28.6p/mile (3 years/60,000 miles) while retaining almost half (48.8%) of its value.

Additionally, as a battery electric vehicle (BEV), it benefits from a benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rate of 2% (2022/23), with P11D values starting from £36,475 (58kWh 204PS V1).

Following the industry success of Born and Formentor, Cupra has also announced that more than the next two years three more electrified models will join the line-up: the plug-in hybrid SUV Cupra Terramar, the fully electric SUV Cupra Tavascan, and the UrbanRebel, Cupra’s small BEV designed for urban electric driving.

As part of a fleet digitalisation strategy, the new Volkswagen Group-wide leasing company portal – an online system for leasing company partners that enables sharing of terms, as well as direct communication with customer contacts - was launched this month (March).

Cupra has a national footprint of more than 120 service centres and more than 50 dealers of which 12 are fleet specialist retailers.