Seat has reportedly decided to discontinue the Altea and Altea XL globally due to declining sales of MPVs in Europe. This is not surprising, as we’re talking about a model launched in 2004 – more surprising is the fact that Seat hasn’t axed the Altea until now.
According to Autocar, Seat only sold 349 Altea and 445 Altea XL models in the UK during 2014. Those are really low numbers even for an MPV – Ford sold approximately 14,000 B-Max units in the UK last year.
While Seat doesn’t plan a direct replacement model for the Altea, the upcoming SUV model based on the Leon will appeal to a similar clientele.
Previewed by the 20V20 concept, Seat’s first SUV will rival the Nissan Qashqai. The model will be unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, with sales to begin later on in the year. In addition, Seat will launch a second smaller SUV in 2017, aimed at competing with the Nissan Juke.
This shows that Seat is following the global shift from MPVs to SUVs. Particularly in Europe, sales figures show that customers are more inclined to buy SUVs rather than sedans and MPVs. Last year Renault surprised many people with the all-new Espace, which ditched the traditional MPV shape for a crossover body.
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