Volkswagen group Spanish unit SEAT on Wednesday (26 March, 2014) said it would produce a new compact SUV model, on sale in 2016.
It has been working on the design and development of the new model at its Martorell headquarters for almost two years.
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“This is an excellent piece of news, since it takes SEAT into a new territory, in one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the world,” SEAT chairman Jürgen Stackmann told the annual results press conference.
“The SUV is an important pillar in the future corporate strategy and is a major step forward on the road to reaching sustainable profitability for the company,” he added.
SEAT said the SUV’s green light was “a clear sign of the Volkswagen group’s commitment to the Spanish brand”.
The new model would achieve a foothold in a growing segment that accounts for almost 1m units per year in Europe alone – a segment that has increased more than 40% over the past five years, and will continue to grow in the future.
The new SUV will further broaden SEAT’s product range, enabling the brand to maintain its current growth momentum following the successful launch of the redesigned Leon line.
Development of the SUV will continue at the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell which employs about 900 engineers.
just-auto new and future products/PLDB editor Glenn Brooks said: “It’s telling that Martorell is not named as the plant, which you’d imagine it would have been if that’s the plan, given the unemployment situation in Spain.”
Instead, he expects the model – to be called Tribu – to be made alongside the next Skoda Yeti at Kvasiny in the Czech Republic.
“The model name comes from a three-door SUV concept which premiered at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2007,” Brooks added.
“The IBX concept from March 2011’s Geneva motor was thought to be a good indicator of the vehicle’s styling. But that was from the time when a SEAT SUV had been expected to enter production in 2013 or 2014. Expect one more concept before the production model appears in 2016.”
