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Affordable EV Wars, Puma Gen-E Road Test & Cupra Ireland Boss Speaks
300 Plays9 days ago
This Week: Budget EV Battles, Irish Road Trips & Cupra Conversations 🇮🇪⚡️
On this episode, Nobby takes the reborn Ford Capri for some driving around Dublin while Paddy clocks serious mileage on two electric road trips in the plucky Dacia Spring.
We pit the Hyundai Inster against the Spring in a cheeky twin test — who comes out on top in the battle of the budget EVs?
Plus, Nobby jets to Barcelona to get behind the wheel of the new Ford Puma Gen-E. What’s it like to drive? He’s got all the answers.
And in our interview segment, we’re joined by Gaspar Alcaide, Brand Director of Cupra Ireland. From sunny Spain to the Emerald Isle, we talk about his journey, Cupra’s bold vision, and how the brand is striking a chord with both new and seasoned drivers.
Buckle up — it’s a good one.
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Transcript
Introduction and Outdoor Setting
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeele Motors, Ireland's favourite car buying website. With the widest selection of cars from certified, trusted dealerships, most Irish drivers find their next car on Dundeele. And Paddy, it is the last episode in the current season.
00:00:16
Speaker
Yes, we are rounding up season one with the episode eight and we're going to take ah a break for just a few weeks and then we'll be back with season two with some really, really good guests. We kind of have to set the scene here because, i mean, bar butt we took a picture, people wouldn't believe. You can spend all the fancy money you like on podcast studios, but the great outdoors, there's something to be said for the great outdoors and we are enjoying what is obviously the unseasonably good weather in Ireland at the moment and And we are sitting in a very beautiful wood in ah lee a part of South County Dublin.
00:00:49
Speaker
So there's Zippet things in the trees. I've filmed a lot of car reviews here over the years actually, as have done deal as well. It's a nice it's a nice spot. and Also, there's a pair of shoes to our left. Looks like ladies shoes because they're pink.
00:01:02
Speaker
I don't know where the owner is, what happened. The case of the missing shoes, the missing pink shoes. It could be a podcast actually. Yeah, I mean you do find strange things filming in the mountains.
00:01:12
Speaker
That's not particularly strange but you do wonder. They look relatively new.
Interview with Gaspar Al-Qaeda Preview
00:01:16
Speaker
and So coming up on this week's podcast we will be talking to Gaspar Al-Qaeda. Yes, that is how you say his name.
00:01:24
Speaker
Which is funny but I mean that's his name. Yeah, the Irish boss of Cooper who is a real live wire, really energetic guy, great personality and we enjoyed ah an interesting sit down with him.
00:01:35
Speaker
I'm going to it was that a reception and he came up to me as a spanish man and said mark um my name's gus byer said yes i know who you are he said and he was joking but ah the wine had been served with screwops and he's like you do not give a spanish man screwedt top wine I was like, okay, noted for next year, Gaspar. Sorry.
00:01:59
Speaker
ah But yeah, he's he's he's good company and and living in Ireland for the last number of years. m So why are we in this beautiful forest? Well, we've just finished filming a twin test of the Hyundai Insta and the Dacia Spring. I feel like you have to say their names properly.
00:02:16
Speaker
ah So we've just filmed the two cars.
Hyundai Insta vs Dacia Spring Discussion
00:02:18
Speaker
um Both really affordable options. Both really affordable new cars on the market. um They kind of offer two different things, don't they? Yeah, they do. The Spring, obviously, is Ireland's cheapest car, cheapest new car. So if you want to the very, very cheapest new car you can get, this is now it. An EV, 26.8 kWh battery, pretty so low on range, about 200km on a full charge.
00:02:41
Speaker
Really, what a car to stay in the city with. and Feels a bit light and tinny in some areas, but ah but yeah, decent spec. and The Insta, though, Mark, is is a different prospect.
00:02:52
Speaker
Yeah, so you get 42 or 49 kilowatt hour battery. The entry price is 18,995 plus delivery, has to be said, or 21,995. Like, it doesn't even make sense saying those prices. When you look at the car, when you look at the finish of it, the charging speeds, the range...
00:03:07
Speaker
It doesn't feel cheap. No, it doesn't. And it's a very complete car, if you like. It's something that does, it does really every job very well. And it's it doesn't disgrace itself on longer journeys.
00:03:18
Speaker
It's really well equipped. It's very spacious. I'm pretty tall and I could sit in the back of it comfortably. Luggage space is okay as well if you slide those seats forward. So it's just a really complete package. um You know, the pricing we've talked about before. I know Hyundai have been incredibly aggressive with the pricing of this and it shows.
00:03:37
Speaker
And the higher spec version, which is the elegance, I believe, and you can fold every single seat, including the driver's seat, flat or forward flat. So you could sleep in it.
00:03:49
Speaker
Now, that should do camping packs in their cars. Not for the spring. No, that would be tricky. um But it's just it just does an awful lot of stuff for a car. If I was in the market and maybe the kids were older, I would just find it hard not to buy one then.
00:04:05
Speaker
Yeah, i sorry, I mean, we've talked about me due to change the E up at some stage and I know the Renault 5 is a front runner, but this one has to be in with a shout as well. It's such a good good car. That's a good point, actually, because because you have lived with ah this this size of car. are there What are the limitations?
00:04:22
Speaker
Well, look, the limitations obviously are the longer journeys. For most of, you know, 99% of the time I spend with my E-Up, it's driving a round trip of, say, 30 kilometres, 15 kilometres each way.
00:04:36
Speaker
And day to day, it's absolutely perfect. It's great handling, great chassis, good equipment. It's obviously when I do those longer trips, be it Cork to Dublin, which isn't that often in that car, that you just need require. a bit more planning.
00:04:50
Speaker
It's a bit more of a pain in the ass. And it's not something you'd want to be doing more than once a week, for sure. Apart from those things. It can be done. Of course it can be done. It's just it's it's a case of you need to stop, but you you should be stopping probably on a journey like that anyway. I did it in the spring earlier in the week and driving down, i i had i left almost pretty much full.
00:05:10
Speaker
we i had to stop in and and stop in Manorstone for a full charge. Now I had to charge it right up to 100% and I just about made it home ah and and then you know wouldn't have been able to go much further.
00:05:23
Speaker
But it was an hour stopped. And, you know, you can have your food and whatever else. Whereas in the Insta, in theory, full battery, I could probably do the same journey without stopping. But then is that necessarily responsive thing to do?
00:05:36
Speaker
Charging speed is a big issue in the spring. It only charges at 30 kilowatts on DC charging, which is very slow. And that means that even those longer journeys, even if you do have access to fast charges, you're just not getting the full charge from it.
00:05:47
Speaker
Now, a lot of cars, the charging curve is never really what the max speed is. did Did the spring do the 30? No, it but it it does about 26, 27. So it doesn't really deviate lower than that. It's one thing I will say to it.
00:06:01
Speaker
ah On that point where lots of cars really, really slow down to a trickle at sort of 80, 90%, it's still going. So as a... More linear. Yeah, you are able to just keep it charging steadily at that.
00:06:14
Speaker
But like I had it twice on Ionity today which is just absolutely ridiculous. Seems like a waste doesn't it? Yeah it's just overkill. is This massive charger and there's only 24 or 5 kilowatts going into it.
00:06:24
Speaker
And do you feel like you're holding people up? On the motorway, yes. Driving it any way over 9,500km per didn't feel the best and I was annoying a few trucks and buses. Although, but I don't know what way limitations work in Ireland because I would have thought that they're supposed to be limited to But i it certainly doesn't need to the case in some areas. You do and you've had the same experience i think with the spring of feeling like you're being a little bit bullied off the road.
00:06:52
Speaker
Yeah, and, you know, it is weird that people are judgmental of smaller cars, but they are. You know, and not if we're driving all sizes cars all the time and and people really are. It's probably more of a male thing. I don't want to say there wasn't also women tailgating me in the spring because there was. Yeah, exactly. I i mean, I like a small car and, you know, that's the reason I bought one. I just like a ah like that size of a ah vehicle. I don't want something that's way more than I need and most of the time I'm driving on my own, so...
00:07:22
Speaker
and Obviously, the the likes of the Renault 5 is another one that we need to jump into the mix because while it's a lot it's more expensive than both of these cars, it's going to be a huge appeal for people who want the looks of it.
Ford Capri Design and Market Strategy
00:07:35
Speaker
But this, you know, this Insta is something else. it really is. i really I really think it is. I really think it is. And I'd imagine it's going to be a car that, if not already, is quickly getting, oh, I won't have one of them for you for three months, six months.
00:07:52
Speaker
Yeah I believe so I believe it's a case of you know Hyundai would take more if they could get them they'd sell whatever they get and for good reason but look of they must have known that's coming if they were going to price it that aggressively yeah because it is incredibly aggressively priced it's a lot cheaper than it is in UK other markets they you would expect that they would expect to be busy with it Speaking of cars that make you feel certain things, I've been driving the Capri for the first half of this. okay And look, I mean, the whole Capri thing has been done to death versus the original car and all that stuff. But I did, so for people that maybe don't know, I also work in Radio Nova, so I do a weekly show there. And sometimes you have to go in for meetings where they play you back what you say on the radio.
00:08:36
Speaker
And then they ask you, what did you think of that? It's really one of the most painful experiences you can imagine as a human. It's like, it's like your teacher going through your homework with you and asking you, you know. Is it a trick question or is it just a... It can be, it can be. Like it's, you know, and and no one likes hearing themselves back. Not even radio presenters. It's like, do you think this was the right thing to say here? So it's like, yeah you know sometimes you get like I would have finished there now why did you go on about the Super Bowl you've just mentioned the rugby match or whatever so anyway I was leaving today and the Capri which is yellow was parked in the car park and on Radio Nova are PJ and Jim morning glory really successful breakfast show ah Jim McCabe has been in radio for years and everyone knows PJ Gallagher and PJ was on his bike and Jim was getting into his
00:09:20
Speaker
Beamer. And I could overhear them as I was walking towards the debris talking about it. And like PJ's voice, or anyone who knows PJ when he's animated, he just has a, it's a really kind of, what the, what And I could hear him saying, like, what have they done?
00:09:33
Speaker
What have they... And ah so Jim gets out and he's like, like, how does that represent the original Capri? And I talked him through, like, the the swoosh on the window. And PJ was just like, Capri? Like, how is it... goes, why didn't they call it something else?
00:09:49
Speaker
Like, I said, if they'd call it, like, The Focus, no one would have cared. And he goes, yeah, or, like, Alan. was like, who's Alan? I think he's hit on a point, though. I mean, I'd i'd love to give Ford the credit for...
00:10:01
Speaker
marketing genius I mean if they'd call it the Maverick or the whatever else or something benign and it would just be another 2.2 ton electric SUV that's not you know taking it on its own it's not that remarkable looking and you know paint if it's painted in another colour it doesn't look that striking a yellow car that's calling itself Capri is It's going to trigger a lot of people to use the kids' words these days. It really does use triggers with with because it's so yellow.
00:10:30
Speaker
I mean, and you know what? I don't hate the look of it. I mean, I know if you if you just forget about the model name for a second, it does look pretty good in yellow. It looks really crisp and fresh and clean.
00:10:41
Speaker
But then it was just so interesting to see two guys who are in their definitely 50s, maybe. Maybe they fought it. i don't know, lads. But anyway, um you're both great. But they would obviously both remember the Capri and they were just horrified.
00:10:55
Speaker
But to see two guys reacting live to it and then they sat in and Jim goes, size of that screen? Because that's a huge mega box movable screen and they just couldn't get it.
00:11:07
Speaker
Yeah, but look, there's there's us talking about it again and how much have many column inches in social media hits and yeah have they got because they called it Capri. But you pointed out something to me the other week as well is that they keep using the old car in an advertisement. Yeah.
00:11:21
Speaker
So I don't know if anyone else is getting targeted by the ads for it, but it's it does eventually turn into the new car. But there's leaning into your heritage and there's reminding everyone about the car they loved so much.
00:11:35
Speaker
And here's the car that is nothing like the original car. Yeah, but any impressions of it so far this week? m Well, I've had to say to people, and the two boys just one example, like if people have stopped me on the street about it, and, you know, i I've been saying to them, well, it's actually a 94 underneath, and like, really? Like, how? And then, there's like there's no point getting into the Alliance thing with people that to have a passing interest in cars, their quick eyelids will shut down, but... him Yeah, like it's efficient.
00:12:06
Speaker
It's not the worst in terms of handling-ish. The steering's very light though. Steering is very light in it. It has a much better steering wheel than the new Puma. I've been driving that this week in Barcelona.
00:12:18
Speaker
And that steering wheel is the same wheel that's in a Transit. Wow, okay. i found I drove the Capri a few weeks back as well and and i I found, again, likeable in some ways. Gets attention, but again, I'm not sure it would in other colours.
00:12:31
Speaker
ah For me, the Explorer's better car. I just found that was a a better package overall. and But the pricing is good in Capri. it's good It's a pretty good value for what it is it's you know yeah you're compared to some rivals. But I know when you compare it to something like an ID.4, the ID.4 is considerably cheaper.
00:12:49
Speaker
considerably cheaper um you don't have to explain to anybody that it's not a VW or not a Ford whatever um yeah i I looked last week just to see so there's been 55 Capris registered in Ireland this year and 27% of that are by private customers right that does tell its own story i would might yeah lot dealer every dealer will have a dealer at MO at least at least and maybe two and some staff cars so yeah there's quite a bit of that but Look, it's ah's another car in the mix, it's but it's also a car we just I just don't think we'd be talking about if it wasn't called Capri and it wasn't painted yellow. No.
00:13:26
Speaker
But it was fit it's efficient. like It sits somewhere in the nice road right now. i been It's now Thursday. It's got 80% range still. It's still got over 400 kilometres of range.
00:13:37
Speaker
Weather conditions are pretty ideal this week, but... um So look, the Puma though, the Puma's been a big success for for the brand. One of their few really of late, to be fair. And ah you've driven the electric version this week. How did you fare?
00:13:51
Speaker
So they've sold over 100,000 Pumas, just normal Pumas, in the last two years in the UK. um It has been the best selling car in the UK. And now they have an electric one that for UK audiences would be doing 220 miles or for people over here.
00:14:11
Speaker
300 and maybe maybe just 300 and it's it's the the version you want is like 35 grand it has some clever stuff it has the gigabox boot it's like 100 kilo ah boot space area and you can has a drain hole in it you can put football boots in it you can put you could wash a baby in it problem and So it has a clever and it has a frunk even though it's such a small car so you get like 40 odd litres so it actually does the space thing reasonably well The problem is you now have the the Dolphin, there's going to be the Addo 2, there's going to be ID.1, there's Renault 5 Is it not bigger than those cars though?
00:14:50
Speaker
um I think when you actually, like okay yeah the boot is bigger than Renault 5 absolutely, the rear space is bigger than Renault 5 absolutely I feel like it sits just in its almost own size, more Kona size now.
00:15:02
Speaker
ah Yeah, Kona maybe, yeah, yeah. But for a little bit more, you can have this ID.3 GTX with 326 brake horsepower, not 168 brake horsepower.
00:15:13
Speaker
We need to get need to drive that car. I know. VW, why are you hiding it? They just keep saying, there's one on the way. There's one on the way. So is Christmas. Yeah. That's such a great package. It's one of those ones I feel like they made a mistake in the price and we should possibly capitalise.
00:15:28
Speaker
Or maybe they they can't get of them because they don't want people talking about it too much. I don't know what it is but and i know that will do faster charging. The the Puma Gen E will do 100 kilowatts. If it was 25, 27 grand, if it had like a 10-year warranty, we were talking, couldn and there's actually quite a senior lady in Ford who's from Cork, but she's in based in the UK.
00:15:50
Speaker
So you yeah always feel like you're able to level more with another Irish person. And were talking about the price and the warranty and where the market is in Ireland. And she was very interesting and interested in listening to it. today Her name is Elaine. And we just said like...
00:16:04
Speaker
First of all, you've turned away John and Mary who've bought a Fiesta for years and years and years. They literally, there's no car in your showrooms for them anymore. Well, but we have the Puma now. that's just That's the smallest car we have. i'm like, yeah, but it's not the price the Fiesta was.
00:16:17
Speaker
If you're a retired couple, you're not going to jump 10 grand or more on the next car. So I just think, especially UK, those sales are based on, in some ways, a different car.
00:16:29
Speaker
Yeah, you're right. And the the the the Puma has been making huge numbers in the UK because of the price point, but that price point isn't the same here. And John and Mary are now in Yaris's or they're in Yaris Cross or they're in Instas or they're in something else. So I think Ford might have missed a trick for some markets, including ours.
00:16:48
Speaker
And it just seems weird with everyone rowing back on their electric plans, and we mean everybody. Could they not just go, guess what's back? You know, the the tagline of the Capri is legends never die. it Okay, bring back the Fiesta then.
00:17:00
Speaker
Yeah, but you would have to look at the broader Ford picture in terms of Europe. but There's been a lot lot of discussion that maybe they don't care about Europe so much anymore. you just want to sell vans. Sell vans and or are are focus on the American market. I mean, if you look at their Capri, look at the Explorer, okay, they've gone to Volkswagen, cap in hand for yeah for a lot of the tech and that, rather than developing their own. It doesn't look like they want to develop any more...
00:17:24
Speaker
ICE power trains so and and the Puma is is based on the four or five year old car so so why did it take so long? So there isn't a huge amount of developments we're not seeing you know we've no we've lost cars like the Focus Focus ST Focus RS Fiesta ST you know cars which were part of Ford's real Backbone heritage of racing They're all gone so are all I know they announced job cuts Across Europe last year I think it was 800 in the UK Are the R&D people just gone? Are they not needed anymore? I don't know But it just seems like Europe is A secondary market And maybe the focus is on other markets
00:18:03
Speaker
judging by what we're seeing from them. and Reserve judgment on the Puma for the E-Puma what is it called E-Puma or Puma? Puma Jenny Puma Jenny like G-E-N hyphen E not like a girl's name but you know you can see people calling it Jenny Right, okay. and But, you know, look, does it do anything special? Does it stand out? Is there anything that would make you go, right, you need to look at this? The the way the brake pedal feels in it is amazing.
00:18:29
Speaker
It's one of the best electric car pedal feels I've driven. And to explain... there is some? Yeah, yes,
Trend of Smaller EVs
00:18:36
Speaker
exactly. Because, and VW Group one of the worst offenders of this at the moment. There's so much regen.
00:18:41
Speaker
So basically the the initial, I'd say nearly 50% of you pressing on a brake pedal these days in an EV is you're not getting friction brakes, you're getting resistance from the motor.
00:18:52
Speaker
And you don't even really know what's happening. It just feels like the brakes are not working as sharply as they should. In the Puma you just tap the brake and it feels exactly like an iced car. I was really impressed with that.
00:19:03
Speaker
The steering is actually not as light as the Capri. It's sluggish because it's only 168. It's about 1500 and odd kilos. So it's not massively heavy EV but it's still heavy. And... ah Yeah, it's it's reasonably comfortable, a little bit firm over bumps and stuff, but you want you want the trade-off, I suppose, to be it handles reasonably well and not to be too too soft.
00:19:23
Speaker
um Yes, it's got clever use of space in the back. um The entry one is 32. Weirdly, if you spec this yellow colour on the higher trim version, it's cheaper.
00:19:35
Speaker
The price of the car drops below 35 grand. They just want more yellow cars around. Yeah. Because they're striking and almost serves as a bit of a mobile billboard if you have these cars because people are talking about them. So they're giving you 800 euro off if you're happy to be ah an ad for Ford, but basically.
00:19:50
Speaker
A moving catalogue. Or Stellantis give you the brighter colours for free. and So I think it's a good place to have more small cars as EVs. Not that the BMW is tiny, tiny, but it just needs to be priced better.
00:20:02
Speaker
But I think these, think EVs and small cars are quite a nice marriage.
Season Recap and Upcoming Reviews
00:20:06
Speaker
We've obviously seen the bigger, heavier, lumpy SUV EVs coming first, but now we're in this chapter of smaller, compact EVs with, you know, appropriate size batteries, if you like.
00:20:18
Speaker
And because the fact that they're lighter, that lenses have to better range inherently, So I welcome it. I like to see this and and we're seeing that generation with the InstaReno5, Puma now coming on stream as well. So I think it augurs well, bodes well for for what is to come.
00:20:36
Speaker
So that is kind of a roundup of of this week's news, where we've been, what we've been driving. I'm off to get the Audi A6 now, which I'm looking forward to driving. and You've driven that. I have. Great car. Really, really liked it. You know, it's obviously not cheap, but it's ah it's one of those ones you'd really like to hang on to the keys in. I was, you know, pretty distraught handing that back. It just does everything right.
00:20:57
Speaker
Looks good. Good range. Good performance. Nice equipment. But yeah, there was 20 odd grand of extras in there. You could have either one of these cars that we're looking at here for the options that were on it.
00:21:07
Speaker
And it's pity we're not going to be on next week because I'll be driving the revised BMW M2 next
Interview with Gaspar Al-Qaeda
00:21:14
Speaker
week. Yeah, well, we can hold that for season two. Yes, that's true. and Right, stay with us because we are chatting to the head of Cupra in Ireland after the break.
00:21:23
Speaker
Welcome back to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeeal Motors, Ireland's favourite website for car buying with more certified, trusted dealers than anyone else. You're sure to find the right car for you on dundeeal.ie. This time we're in the company of a very charismatic ah man from the south of Spain, who I have had the pleasure of his company many times over some press trips.
00:21:48
Speaker
You're not allowed to laugh at his surname because it is Gaspar Al Qaeda. He is the brand director of Cupra Ireland. Gaspar, welcome to the podcast. Thank you very much. And thank you for being here. And welcome back, Paddy.
00:22:00
Speaker
Thank you very much. Lovely to be here. Gaspar, what is a a man from beautiful Spain doing in rainy old Ireland? So this is this is a good question. um I'm doing two things.
00:22:12
Speaker
The first thing I'm doing is I was sent here to launch Cupra. I'm responsible for SEAT and Cupra in Ireland. And I came here two and a half years ago and I came with the mandate and the objective to develop Cupra and to launch properly and grow Cupra in the brand. This is the first thing I'm doing.
00:22:34
Speaker
The second thing I'm doing is I'm enjoying the island. I had some experience with Irish people and but and I thought it was going to be interesting, but I didn't think it was going to be so cool, so enjoyable, so different, so friendly as it is. So this is the second thing I'm doing. I'm having a marvelous experience in in this country with my family.
00:22:59
Speaker
So it sounds like the second part is going very well. ah The first part you mentioned, launching Cupra, it has gone particularly well in Europe, but also in Ireland. ah But it it's taking a while for people to to know what Cupra is. i remember you you explained some of your neighbours a few years ago, and now they now they get it.
00:23:21
Speaker
So is that representative of the Irish people, do you think? So, ah yes, as a new brand, You come and for us, this is our day and night, this is everything for us.
00:23:31
Speaker
But for regular customers, there is a huge offer of everything, not only cars, it's it's cars, shoes it's shoes, it's everything there. And they don't have this awareness. when When I arrived first ah to the country, when we started this journey with the team,
00:23:46
Speaker
um It is true, our our awareness was less than 50%. So you could ask one every second person and they didn't know what it was. They were confusing Cupra with Cooper, Mini Cooper, or or with other things.
00:24:00
Speaker
And it was our job to build this history and to bring the the recognition of the brand in the country. which we are doing quite, quite well. At the moment, we are at 80%. So eight um out of every 10 people know what it is when they see the the the brand, which is quite in the in the European standards.
00:24:18
Speaker
So to this point, something that we are delighted here in Ireland is that the speed that we that we take to to to get to this level was much faster than in the European countries. We are now at the the european average European level, and we have done this in four years that we are present.
00:24:35
Speaker
Take us back to tell us about your career. How did you start and and how did you build up to get to where you are and right now? The first thing, and I think the most relevant for this for this podcast and and for the people hearing this but podcast is I am a car man. I'm a car enthusiast. I'm a mother head. I love cars. I love bikes. I love ah love everything that goes fast and and with emotion.
00:25:03
Speaker
This said, I only worked in the automotive industry for 14 years. My previous life um has been always in the in commercial, always in sales, in different companies, in different areas, strategy, purely sales, different things.
00:25:19
Speaker
And 14 years ago, I was working in fast-moving consumer goods. i was selling cookies. on And I got the opportunity to move to SEAT. Me, being from Barcelona, SEAT being a brand with a huge heritage, which is some part of the city, was offered this possibility. And I said, it is now or never. I had to do a couple of compromises to be able to jump in.
00:25:43
Speaker
And I decided to do it. And since then, i have had 14 years of joy. I love what I do. I love the product. I love the industry.
00:25:53
Speaker
And within SEAD, I started in after sales. In after sales, ah that was one of the compromises. I was responsible for training, so which for me was a different world.
00:26:05
Speaker
And I did this for a while, but after a while I went to my regular area, which was sales. I started in fleet for all Europe. Then I was in charge of ah markets. I started with overseas sales.
00:26:21
Speaker
Turkey, Algeria, Israel. Then I moved to Northern Europe, Scandinavia. And then I made the move to come to to take care of UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
00:26:35
Speaker
It was two years. i had the opportunity to get to know Ireland, to get to know the network, to to get to know the the market. And I was offered the possibility ah to come to Ireland, which took me 1.2 seconds to say, yes, I want.
00:26:48
Speaker
And since then, here I am. Two and a half years now. So at this level, you're in charge of the brand. You've got a team working outside your office.
00:26:59
Speaker
You obviously report into Germany to the Volkswagen Group ah brand as well. um Yet you you strike us as a guy who's ah hardworking, but also has a ah good balance in his life. And you you you talk about your family at Cupra events and you're an outdoorsy kind of guy. So how do you make it all work?
00:27:20
Speaker
The key for me there is just outside of this desk. It's the guys, the people that are outside. um we managed to build a team of of very, very strong people.
00:27:34
Speaker
Really, it's a small team within the building, but they are challengers. There are guys and and ah ladies which are proud of the brand, which are convinced of what they are doing, and which are passionate about what they are doing.
00:27:47
Speaker
They are also technically very good. When you have your back backed by something like this, you can really rely on them. You can work... Together with them, and you know you are doing the best that you can do, and you're taking the best decisions and doing the best things.
00:28:01
Speaker
And this gives you the confidence ah to face the the the difficulties, because challenges that are enormous, as you can imagine. Stress, there is a lot.
00:28:12
Speaker
But with the with the right team, with the right decisions, a lot of support from the headquarters as well, because the history that we are building here, it's a very positive one. And we are putting Ireland in the map in the headquarters of Seattle and Cupra.
00:28:27
Speaker
um This gives you a lot lot of support. The second, and for me is key, is when I go outside of the building. When I came to Ireland, I decided, together with my family, to come with them there.
00:28:39
Speaker
um I have a wife, Austrian wife, and two children, 16 and 18, which are enjoying here. and And this is key. Sometimes you go out and the 30 minutes from here to home with a car, you are really, when you arrive there, you have the support, you have the quietness, you know, that you have ah the joy and the of the family.
Cupra's Marketing and Brand Strategy
00:29:00
Speaker
This is key to make the thing work. And these are the two pillars in which i i I rely to be able to to handle all this stuff. And gardening.
00:29:12
Speaker
In the back garden. And gardening. Yes, and this is the other thing. This is the other thing. ah I come from Barcelona. In Barcelona, 90% of the people live in flats, in apartments.
00:29:22
Speaker
And here people live in houses. So it's a luxus. So I'm enjoying my garden and I hear to your podcast when I am doing my gardening. Actually, this is not a ah property podcast by any means, but if for people who haven't been to Barcelona, it is in contrast to Dublin, which Dublin is like a a saucer. that There is we don't have high rise.
00:29:42
Speaker
Do you look around sometimes and go why can't the Irish people get the whole housing, tall housing sorted? I see it from another perspective, Mark. I think you are one of the last cities in the world advanced, developed, where you can have the looks the luxury of living as you are living.
00:30:02
Speaker
So there are certain areas that need to be built and they need to be built in the heights. But the quality of life, the people having their houses, having their little gardens, their little things, it's a dream for anyone living in in a flat.
00:30:16
Speaker
So how as long as you can keep it. I think a lot of people initially would have had some scepticism about whether Cooper would succeed or not at the at the very outset. But both in the wider group and in Ireland, there's been really impressive growth.
00:30:31
Speaker
So how would you split the mix between good product and excellent marketing? This is a very good question, Paddy, that I like and that I like to to to to answer because I have thought many times about this when we were explaining why.
00:30:45
Speaker
so So sometimes you do the best, but why things work. And I think it's it's the the two points that you have mentioned are very relevant, but we have different levers. The first lever, I have mentioned it before, is the team. You need to have a team of believers a little bit crazy that go for it, that believe, and that really have the trust and the hope that the thing is going to happen. Number one.
00:31:04
Speaker
The second one is the network. In the automotive industry, you need a very strong network of guys that are, as the word networks mean, together with you in a network.
00:31:15
Speaker
So we have a fantastic network of 16 investors all around the country with pristine facilities. When a customer enters one of our showrooms, he or she can understand what Cupra stands for.
00:31:29
Speaker
And this is due to the dedication and the big investment of of our investors in this. the The showrooms say a lot about what the brand stands for. We are a brand for for for challengers. We are a brand for um not for everybody. It polarizes.
00:31:47
Speaker
It's about lifestyle. It's about this coolness around the cars. A lot of design that you can breathe in the cars and you can also see in the showrooms. So the second is the showrooms. The third one is the marketing side, the history.
00:32:03
Speaker
There are a lot of products and and and and there are a lot of things there. But you, today, you need to have a history behind. You need to explain something. And this is what we are doing with with with Mark, ah with our marketing team.
00:32:18
Speaker
uh we are extremely strong in music we are supporting the beyond the pale festival we are making dj um contest here in ireland with over 300 participants last year we are repeating it this year uh we have been very strong in gaming which are the the only brand doing this um we are very strong in paddle we are the main sponsors of the irish paddle federation we are making ah a paddle tournament in Ireland.
00:32:46
Speaker
So we are have very heavy in this. And our investment in marketing and media is is enormous. With your support, guys, um we are um building the history.
00:32:56
Speaker
And you need to build this. You need to have these levers developed to really get the most off of the product. And now with the product launches that we had, the new Leon, the new Fermentor, the Terramar,
00:33:11
Speaker
the Tavascan and the Renewed Born and so on, we have the right produce there to be able to go to the next step, which is our aim at this moment. The models sound so much better when you say them.
00:33:25
Speaker
It's just... And I've said this before. i draw and it just, it was like as it was planned. Last Friday, I drove by a secondary school in the new Tavascan and all the sort of 16, 15-year-old Like, oh, look, at you can see them looking at the cars.
00:33:42
Speaker
ah So there's definitely connection there, whether they are Cooper customers in their 20s or they'll be able able to maybe ah they'll have a used model. i I don't know. But there is definitely you can see all of that underground marketing, if that's the the right terminology to definitely connect with with that audience.
00:33:58
Speaker
um You've mentioned it once or twice, you've made our job kind of easy. can you can It's probably a short answer this stage, which is probably a good thing. The SEAT question of the future of SEAT.
00:34:09
Speaker
What is the future of SEAT? If you allow me before one comment on what you have said about the young people. um We are connecting with the young people because Cupra, it's a young spirited brand.
00:34:20
Speaker
Who's going to buy our cars? Our cars are going to be bought by young people and also by people in bigger ages, in an older ages. But those are people that feel...
00:34:31
Speaker
young, that are young-spirited. And this is what the brand brings. This design, this freshness, this a little bit the different brings it. My son was telling me, you are hitting it, Papa, because there are few brands where I put i would put a T-shirt and I go with a Cupra T-shirt to the gym and the guys are telling me, this is cool and this is all about it.
00:34:53
Speaker
You need to be cool. You need to bring something and this is what we are doing. This in terms of Cupra. But then, of course, you say, I'm going to say it. So, SEAT, for both SEAT SA and for the group, for the Volkswagen group, is extremely important.
Performance vs Emissions Challenge for Cupra
00:35:11
Speaker
SEAT has a broad audience between 1.5% and 2% market share of very loyal customers. They are SEAT customers.
00:35:22
Speaker
and they want SEAT cars. And they come back and they buy a SEAT again. So we have people getting their third or fourth Arona because they love it. We have young people entering in the automotion with Ibiza, that they love it.
00:35:38
Speaker
And we have our Ateca or our Leon customers, which are very loyal. For these customers, we have to offer... this product which we are offering and we will continue offering.
00:35:50
Speaker
have We are renewing the Vita, we are renewing the Arona, we are working to renew and to innovate in our powertrains, in the engines that we are having in the cars, which is something ah very important, and we are going to continue offering SEAT cars for our SEAT customers.
00:36:11
Speaker
Because the combination of the two brands is something very clear. Cupra and Seat are two completely different things. And the two of them complement the portfolio, which is suitable for many customers and very convenient for our dealers who can offer a very broad offer of different products.
00:36:32
Speaker
And I presume because of the but VW Group part of the company, it's it's easier to do that, to have multiple brands on between Zeta and Cupra, for example? Yeah, I mean, the the the the group is something which is of capital importance for us because it allows us to do this yeah because the technology is there.
00:36:52
Speaker
We are backed by the technology of the group and we can build the different brands with the different qualities, with the different designs, with the different approaches. And this is something that we can offer. Otherwise, it would be completely important impossible.
00:37:06
Speaker
But if you look within the group, the positioning of the brands is completely different and makes and makes sense ah within the other brands of the group as well.
00:37:16
Speaker
On that very note, um so Cupra was born to be a high performance petrol orientated brand. And obviously that will change with with time. But due to our emissions based tax in Ireland, Cupra is probably more of ah an electric or will be more of an electric but brand.
00:37:36
Speaker
For the people who are big into cars listening, can you tell us, first of all, are there countries who are even stricter on emissions than we are? So we still get maybe the odd 300 brake horsepower Cupra.
00:37:48
Speaker
um And, you know, how hard is it to still be a Cupra in an electric dominated market? before Before to your point, this is a very good point, because in Cupra, internationally, we are talking about seven years, seven cars, seven different models.
00:38:04
Speaker
In Ireland, we talk about four years, seven different models. We arrived much later than Cupra was born. Cupra was born an, in the ADN of Cupra is the performance and the and the engine and the power engines, the very powerful engines and the thing.
00:38:22
Speaker
and And in Ireland, this was easily not possible. I'm going to give you an example. And your and you ah the people hearing the podcast are going to love it. If we take a combustion car and the same one in high performance, so 150 and 330 the difference of price in Ireland is 33,000 euros.
00:38:42
Speaker
The difference of price in Germany is 13,000 euros. the different of price in germany east thirteen thousand euros More interesting than that is in Germany, out of these 13,000 euros, 8,000 are taxes.
00:39:01
Speaker
And the rest is in the more value of the car, etc. In Ireland, guess what?
00:39:11
Speaker
So the car is 33,000 euros more expensive, but the taxes in the car is 35,000. So it's all taxes and still needs to be taken something from there in order in order to catch up.
00:39:24
Speaker
For this reason, was impossible ah to launch it here. But performance is in our ADN and performance is more than the pure power of the engine.
Gaspar's Personal Passion for Cars
00:39:39
Speaker
So there are two relevant things. that The first thing is you can, in performance, you have a lot of horsepowers, but you also have the handling of the car, the driving, the feeling of the car.
00:39:49
Speaker
Our cars, all of them, breathe this ah performance design, performance feeling, this body ah behavior, and so on, being reasonable in there in their um horsepower and in the CO2 taxation.
00:40:09
Speaker
But then technology allowed us to develop two lines of work. One is PHEV. In PHEV, you get a León, Cupra León, a Cupra Formentor, or a Terramar with 272 PS.
00:40:26
Speaker
Zero to 100 in six seconds. And really a feeling of power. And you get the rationale of the PHEV, very low CO2.
00:40:37
Speaker
You can drive these cars basically electric because you do over 100 kilometers, real kilometers ah of usage electric. And then you have the tank.
00:40:47
Speaker
So I'm using one and I like to to to to talk about examples. I go to tank every 1,500 to 1,800 kilometers. And all the rest, I'm driving electric.
00:41:00
Speaker
And when you kick down... The thing is really powerful. So this is one of the of the performance. our cars Our performance cars are called BZ.
00:41:12
Speaker
This stands for VELOZ, which is fast. So we have the PHEVs BZ. And then in electric, we have realized and we are developing an electrifying performance.
00:41:26
Speaker
So if you get the Born, 340
00:41:30
Speaker
And it's a car that the ASP is as busy as nowhere else. it's It's lively. Yeah. And you tried the car and and and you tested it. It is it is ah extremely sporty.
00:41:43
Speaker
It's a hot hatch. um and And the same we are doing with the Tabasco. So it's compatible with the new technologies. It's compatible in a market as Ireland to have really um sporty and performance car with a reasonable taxation.
00:41:59
Speaker
Tell us a little bit about your love of cars and your love of travel. i mean, obviously, people who listen to this podcast will be petrol heads. They'll have a petrol gun through their veins for sure. Gaspar was looking at the seal on the sunroof of my car outside. He was like, I'd probably get that checked if I was you.
00:42:15
Speaker
So talk us through, I mean, obviously, look, you're going to be a ah guy who loves, say, and Cupra, but is are there other models within the group? Are there other even brands, classic cars that you love that you've grew up liking?
00:42:28
Speaker
You know, what created that love of cars?
Cupra's Work Culture and Talent Attraction
00:42:32
Speaker
So as I have said before, I have always been ah ah mad about cars. And I always loved ah all kinds of powerful cars.
00:42:41
Speaker
ah ah I love old timers. I love old cars. So I have two preferred cars, two answers to your question. The first one is... Every father loves his children. So for me now, the Tabascan, I have been driving the Tabascan and it's a car that from design, from equipment, from what it offers, it's a different thing. And it's the best car I've driven in long, long time.
00:43:07
Speaker
and and And I love it. This is from what we have today. And this is one of our cars, the Cupra Tabasca. I always loved cars since I was a child. And my icon, this is not a car, it's a piece of art. My icon, it's a Porsche 911 Targa 1990.
00:43:26
Speaker
Nice. nice It's a perfect, beautiful work of art. And maybe, Mark, you can tell me more about it. No, you probably know more than I certainly can't afford one. My big regret was maybe 15 years ago you could buy 993 for maybe 13,000 sterling plus VRT. But not that's not maybe 20,000 euro at the time.
00:43:48
Speaker
Now, 90, 100,000?
00:43:51
Speaker
Yeah. ye So I'm hoping mine does the same in 10 years when it goes classic, but I don't know if it will. Total sidebar, but I remember there was a dealership in Ashburn in County Mead that had two E30 M3s and they were both €15,950 and thought too expensive.
00:44:08
Speaker
and i thought it was too expensive yeah so That's a 110 for a nice one now. Yeah. Yeah. um it's It's just crazy. that The old timers have always been an investment and something to have fun with maybe. But I think more than ever now with so much uncertainty over fuel types and in the future, maybe we'll have synthetic fuels. Maybe we won't. Maybe we'll have more electrification. Maybe we won't. Who knows? and But I think people will probably hold on to something special that has a petrol engine and in it now more than ever.
00:44:40
Speaker
Absolutely. and And of course, in the case of of this car, as you have mentioned, that was a bet. And I also, by the way, cannot afford one. I would love to. ah But those cars are more than a car.
00:44:55
Speaker
Those cars are icons. yeah and and and And in this life, and as you say, as things are moving so fast and going forward, you need to stick to the icons because they are and they will stay there. Gaspar, one last question for anybody who's listening to this podcast and maybe ah is is a marketing student or other other areas that would kind of fall under the automotive umbrella.
00:45:16
Speaker
It strikes that young people want to work in Skoda here because they have lots of fun and people want to work in Cooper here because they have they have lots of fun. and And talking to Caroline, one of your team, she mentioned the the work experience people in
Conclusion and Season Two Preview
00:45:29
Speaker
Liffey Valley.
00:45:29
Speaker
Now, Cooper is the number one choice. So that must be music to to your ears. um But why why should someone come and work with you guys? the The fact of the young people choosing the brand, this is true and we are seeing it and it's a good sign of what we are doing of what we are doing outside.
00:45:46
Speaker
Why people should come here? Because we believe in what we are doing, because we are writing something, because we are from very small, we are building something and this is what we are building. Each of the members of the team, they're outside,
00:46:01
Speaker
is theirs. And they are building something which is own. So in some time they will be able to look back and to say, I did this. I did this. So it's not a flat history.
00:46:12
Speaker
it's a fish It's a history of of growth, of building. Of course, this is more difficult, sometimes it's very dry, sometimes our big disappointment, but this is this is part of the game. This is sporty, dispassion this and we are trying to leave all of us this passion to transmit. I'm i'm very passionate.
00:46:32
Speaker
I transmit this ah to the team. The team are as well, and and and it's a great it's a great thing. It could sound like the typical thing that you say, but it's like a family. We are a very strong team fighting for something.
00:46:45
Speaker
A tribe is the word, I believe. Exactly. We are a tribe. We are a tribe. That's a a good answer to finish on today's special guest. Gaspar, thank you very much for talking to us. Thank you very much, Mark. Thank you very much, Paddy. Thank to you you.
00:46:58
Speaker
Well, Paddy, I didn't really think Gaspar was going to disappoint anyway, but he didn't. No, what a great ball of energy and really, you know, a real car guy. You could get that sense off him and you can see why Cooper is doing well both domestically and internationally if they have people like that. and passion the show Yeah, absolutely. that's I would imagine, you know, working for him or with him would be would be great. But yeah, you'd be kept on your toes for sure.
00:47:23
Speaker
Yes, there might be there might be fire. and There might be fire. um Right, well, look, ah before we we go, we obviously want to thank our sponsors. The Driver Public Podcast has been brought to you in association with Dungeyville Motors, with Ireland's widest selection of cars for sale from certified trusted dealers. The right car for you is on dundeal.ie.
00:47:44
Speaker
So they've been great supporting us. Yeah, thanks a lot guys because and you know it does ah does help make this thing worthwhile and allows us to get the guests we have and to ah to keep the show on the road so we really appreciate that and and we look we we thank all you guys for listening as well and we would encourage you please to...
00:48:02
Speaker
hit subscribe on wherever you get your podcasts because that does help us as well. It helps us grow and we hope to be back in a few weeks, bigger and better. So make sure you put your notifications on so you can know when we are back. We're not kind of begging kind of guys. so We've probably never said leave us a review and like the thing on Spotify because you can do all those things. We just don't want to.
00:48:24
Speaker
No, but it is one of those things that does help the show and and if if you you can spare that couple of minutes to to do that, it would really help. Now, on season two, when we come back, we will be talking to a very interesting ah lady entrepreneur in the Irish motoring scene who gets lots of headlines, gets lots of opportunities to talk to the media about her side of the of the business. um ah think everyone knows who we're talking about.
00:48:54
Speaker
Yeah, Nadia, a Dan, a really clever woman, a really clever businesswoman, um an expert marketeer. You know, of course, controversy where we required and doesn't serve for fools. And I think, what you know, is an interesting has been an interesting addition to the motoring industry.
00:49:10
Speaker
seen in Ireland and you know I'm really curious to get her story but I'm also curious to learn to learn you know how she how she got to where she is she's she's obviously very wise and and see if her views are really her views Yes, I think like i've I've met an Nadia in person now at a Simi conference i was I was doing that she was ah speaking at. And very warm person. She's grouping for a house in Dublin.
00:49:37
Speaker
um Her mom took on every job she could to make sure she got a really good education. So I think there's kind of more strings to her bow than people see on the TikTok girl.
00:49:49
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. And I think it'd be nice to to find find those out. And that's, you know, it's someone who... um won't be put off by the odd negative comment and is is well able to stand up for herself.
00:50:00
Speaker
Yeah, so just one of one of the guests we will have ah on next season's episode and this is a good opportunity as well to remind you that drivers public podcast at gmail.com is our email address if you want to send us over a question or two. Maybe it's about a car ownership decision.
00:50:14
Speaker
um I don't know, a second-hand car ownership decision, which seven-seater should you buy you don't have a huge budget for, whatever it is, we're there for you. know a bit this stage. Yeah. All right, so we'll see you soon and thanks as always for listening.