Seat will become the second brand within the VW Group to offer an MEB-based electric vehicle, with the car in question to be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.
This means that Seat’s first electric car will share the same underpinnings with the VW ID hatchback. Skoda will follow with an electric crossover, previewed by the Vision E concept.
“We are the second brand after Volkswagen to use the MEB platform. It shows you our brand positioning and how group management sees the role of Seat,” said Luca de Meo, Seat’s boss to Autocar at the reveal of the Minimo concept.
“Over the past five or six years, we’ve shown that, given the right ingredients, we can cook very well. Just look at [the success of the] Leon”, he added.
In addition, Alejandro Mesonero, the brand’s design chief, said that the new electric concept is “97 percent there” in terms of final production design. Seat’s new electric model will come with a driving range of 500km (310 miles), the same figure quoted by both VW and Skoda for their upcoming MEB-based electric cars.
In terms of design, the electric Seat is described to be taller than the VW ID Hatch but lower than the Skoda SUV, suggesting at a crossover bodystyle. Seat also plans an electric SUV, which will come after Skoda launches their own EV.
In addition, Seat will launch the next Leon with their first plug-in hybrid powertrain. Mesonero said that the new generation’s design will be a “bigger step” than the one Seat took with the launch of the current Leon, which was originally launched in 2012.
The next-gen, plug-in hybrid Seat Leon is expected to use an updated version of the powertrain found in the VW Golf GTE, in addition to a brand new infotainment system that aims to conquer the segment.
Note: Older SEAT IBE Concept pictured in the opening image, VW I.D. Crozz above and below
