Dhe man was born in 1966 in Dukinfield, UK, has lived in Bavaria for decades, came to Seat in 2016 and is now driving the Adrenalin department, which was launched as a separate brand and which they have given the name Cupra. It’s a good thing that Wayne Griffiths is mostly relaxed and looks a bit rebellious, just as he wants to see Cupra placed. Words then slip from his lips, which he may or may not take back a second later. “We want to make cool cars. From Barcelona,” says Griffiths. They shouldn’t be premium, rather something progressive for the future, without heritage, without tradition.
That’s only half true. For a long time, Cupra was an addition to the more research-based Seat, but less well known than AMG or M. Now the attempt has started to stand on its own wheels, “to build cars for young people who don’t use the brand of their parents or grandparents Want to drive”. That seems to work usefully. Last year sales tripled to 80,000 units. The strongest market is Germany, followed by Spain. A doubling is planned for the current year, for which Griffiths does not shy away from making remarkable decisions. “We will preferably install the semiconductors that we get in Cupra. At the expense of Seat, if in doubt,” says the boss.