2019-03-27 10:00
SEAT will lead the Volkswagen Group project to develop an entry-level electric vehicle that can be sold for less than 20,000 euros (£17,000), the company has announced.
The VW Group confirmed two weeks ago the project to develop an ‘MEB entry family’ - in effect, a smaller set of pure-electric models that will be around four metres in length (the same as a VW Polo or SEAT Ibiza) - by 2023. Now SEAT boss Luca de Meo has confirmed that 300 engineers have been assigned to the project in Barcelona, and that SEAT will be one of the brands to use the smaller, cheaper MEB architecture. “For the first time, the SEAT Technical Centre will be developing a platform that may be used by more brands around the globe,” he said.
• Volkswagen's Polo-sized electric car to head up entry-level ID. family
The VW Group CEO Dr Herbert Diess added, “SEAT is a crucial building block for the future of the VW Group. It is a successful and important player again, based on close cooperation and synergies as well as joint technology and product development. The small electric platform is a great illustration of this. It enables us to realise the first electric vehicle that is especially designed for urban journeys available for less than 20,000 euros.”
Diess’s comments would suggest that the VW Group is looking at a much more modest range for its MEB entry family than the conventional line-up, which will be launched with the ID. hatchback later this year. It’s conceivable that to keep the price at such a low level, MEB entry hatchbacks could have as little as 120 miles of range between charges.
SEAT also confirmed the identities of its first six pure-electric or plug-in hybrid cars, which will all be on sale by the start of 2021. The first model will be the Mii Electric, and this will be followed by the el-Born MEB pure EV and then plug-in hybrid versions of the new Tarraco SUV and the next generation of Leon hatchback.
In a significant development, SEAT also confirmed that the next two Cupra models - the Formentor crossover and the Cupra edition of the next-gen Leon - will also feature plug-in electrification. This marks the first major commitment by any manufacturer to make a hot hatchback with plug-in functionality
SEAT confirmed at its press conference that it recorded strong sales in 2018 - the best performance in the company’s history. It made 294 million euros (£251m) in profit last year, a rise of 4.6 per cent over 2017, and delivered 517,600 vehicles, a gain of more than 10 per cent from the previous year.
What do you think of SEAT leading the way in entry-level electric vehicles? Let us know in the comments below...
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