New Cupra Raval is a small EV based on the UrbanRebel concept

• Small, fully-electric city car
• Expected to debut in 2025
• Priced from around £20,000

Cupra has revealed the name of its small electric car will be the Cupra Raval. Its design was previously showcased by the UrbanRebel concept car, first appearing at the International Motor Show Germany in 2021. 

The ‘Raval’ nameplate is inspired by a neighbourhood in Barcelona with the same name. Cupra, alongside its sister brand SEAT, has a history of using Spanish place names for models such as the Leon, Formentor and Ibiza – the Cupra ‘Born’ is also named after a neighbourhood in Barcelona, so the Raval will follow this pattern.

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The new Cupra will arrive alongside models from Volkswagen and Skoda, sharing technology with those cars in the same way the Born borrows parts from the Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq iV. We expect prices for the production-ready Raval, which is similar in size to a SEAT Ibiza, to start at around £20,000.

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The brand has also released some new images of the upcoming Raval – it appears closer to production than ever before, but the Raval is still a very bold car with unusual bodywork and a blanked-off front grille to improve aerodynamics. It also has a tall, SUV-like stance with angular body panels.

The sides are heavily creased and there’s a full-width light bar at the rear, along with large Cupra lettering and a V-shaped section with the brand’s logo. We can expect some tweaks before its full debut to make it comply with road-going regulations, and the toning down of some of its more unusual features, but it will look fairly similar when the production car arrives in 2025.

The Cupra Raval is slightly shorter than a SEAT Ibiza supermini but much wider. It also has a longer wheelbase than the Ibiza, meaning there should be more interior space.

Previous images have shown the Raval’s cabin with a large centre console and bold dashboard with hidden air vents and colourful LED ambient lighting. There’s also a central curved display that will display the sat-nav and other features on the production car.

The Raval features recycled and bio-based materials inside, and uses sports seats and copper-coloured trim pieces. We wouldn’t expect too many luxuries in the entry-level production car, but given the brand’s sporty image, every Cupra Raval should retain a sporty look.

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Few details have been released about the upcoming Raval’s powertrain, but Volkswagen Group’s other small electric car concept, the ID. Life, used a 57kWh battery. Cupra has previously said that the UrbanRebel concept on which the Raval will be based has a range of up to 273 miles, which would be about right for a battery of that size.

Previous prototypes of the Raval have sported an electric motor up front which produces 231bhp, giving a 0-62mph time of just 6.9 seconds, and making it slightly faster than a key rival, the MINI Electric. We expect less-powerful versions to feature when the small Cupra arrives in the UK.

This new small electric car will tie in with VW’s plans to create a range of EVs smaller than the Volkswagen ID.3. The Cupra Raval, Volkswagen ID.1 and a small Skoda EV could use a shortened version of the ‘MEB’ platform underpinning the ID.3, or a new architecture designed for more compact EVs.

SEAT’s factory in Martorell, Spain, is earmarked to produce over 500,000 electric cars a year, and this is where the Raval EV will be built. The firm’s plans for the factory also include the production of electric cars for other VW Group brands alongside SEAT and Cupra models. The forthcoming Tavascan electric SUV will also be built at the facility, with production starting in 2024.

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