Volkswagen announced it would import Chinese-made vehicles into Europe. According to a report by European Automotive Newsthe company cited limited production capacity in its home market, hence the need to procure vehicles from the People’s Republic.
This is not the first time a European automaker has imported cars from China. Tesla, BMW, and Renault did it with the Model 3, iX3, and Spring, respectively. For Volkswagen, the model to be exported from China will be the production version of the upcoming Cupra Tavascan.
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“The Anhui plant is a plant with the right capacity and technology at the time of production planning,” VW said in a statement. The automaker added that it had no further plans to export other models from China.
Revealed as an electric concept crossover in 2019, the Cupra Tavascan has been confirmed for production and is projected to go on sale in Europe in 2024. It is based on the VW Group’s MEB platform, which also powers the VW ID series. The SEAT sub-brand briefly unveiled a production version of the Tavascan earlier this year through the Unstoppable Impulse event, including facelifted versions of the Formentor, Born and Leon.
Meanwhile, Cupra is already on its way and testing a production Tavascan. Our spies captured a prototype disguised as a VW ID.4.
Much like the concept, the Tavascan will come with a dual-motor setup producing over 300 horsepower (220 kilowatts) at its most powerful form. Other variations of this powertrain will be available, although you can expect the Tavascan to be the sportiest compact EV crossover offering in the VW Group’s lineup.
VW will manufacture the Cupra Tavascan at one of its joint venture factories in Anhui. This is the automaker’s third MEB plant in the People’s Republic.
