A shipment of 450 plug-in hybrid Cupra Formentor VZe SUVs and Cupra Leon VZe hatchbacks has begun to arrive in Australia, the single biggest order since the Spanish brand went on sale here in July 2022. 

The ‘VZe’ tag is the name Cupra gives to its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which offer about 50km of driving range using only the electric motor before the petrol engine switches on.

Supply constraints – which have impacted most car manufacturers during and since the global pandemic – meant only small volumes of Cupra’s plug-in hybrids initially ended up in Australia.

Plug-in hybrid cars are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) in Australia until 31 March 2025, which could advantage company-car drivers at tax time.

Owners of plug-in hybrid cars can charge the vehicle’s battery pack via a household power socket, or a home or office wallbox charging unit – and then seamlessly switch to petrol or diesel power to drive longer distances when the 50km or so of battery charge is depleted.

“Those intent on making savings at the bowser can do the average daily commute on battery alone with reserves to spare,” Cupra Australia director, Ben Wilks, said in a media statement.

The Formentor VZe, which was the first plug-in hybrid for Cupra in Australia, is priced from $65,790 before on-road costs.

It combines a 12.8kWh battery with a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine.

The Formentor is the car maker’s most popular model locally by a significant margin, making up 1342 of 2529 Cupra sales (or 53 per cent) to the end of September 2023.

That compares to its next-best seller, the electric Cupra Born hatchback, which has clocked up 594 deliveries over the same period (or 10 per cent of demand of demand for the brand). 

About 20 per cent (254) of Formentor sales so far have been the VZe plug-in hybrid version, with around five per cent of Leon sales being the VZe. 

While Cupra Australia did not disclose specific numbers, the majority of the 450 cars arriving are believed to be Formentors and a small number of Leons.

The Volkswagen-owned Spanish brand Cupra launched in Australia in 2022 as a standalone marque selling vehicles locally at non-negotiable, fixed prices.

Previously, Cupra was the performance arm of Spanish car maker, Seat – part of the Volkswagen Group and not sold in Australia since 1998.