An SUV with more familiar features and a sportier one are the future bets of SEAT.
About a year ago, the Spanish brand made its "big" debut in the SUV segment with the Ateca. However, at the end of last year, we got to know the updated version of the SEAT Leon, and yesterday, SEAT presented the fifth generation Ibiza – a fundamental model for the success of the Spanish brand, or this was not its bestseller. A very busy calendar that promises to stay that way.Also for 2017, the launch of the SEAT Arona is planned, a compact SUV that will position itself below the Ateca in the hierarchy of the Spanish brand. Will the releases stop here? The answer is no: the range of SUV’s from the Spanish brand will continue to expand.
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In an interview with Autocar, the head of the brand's design department Alejandro Mesonero revealed that the arrival of a larger SUV (above the Ateca) is inevitable and will be a “different” model from the rest.
For his part, Luca de Meo, chairman of the Seat Executive Committee, went even further and raised the possibility of SEAT launching a sports SUV as a «top of the range» for 2020. “Perhaps a crossover, in a concept similar to the Porsche Macan . A mix between a sports car and an SUV – it's one of the segments where we anticipate some growth,” he says.
If realized, it is to be expected that some of these models will be able to debut a hybrid or even 100% electric engine, taking advantage of technology from the VW Group.
Image: SEAT 20V20