SEAT EV plus PHEV Leon
Spanish brand outlines electrification plans at conference Electric Mii remains in doubt ubt
Spanish brand announces first EV and new plug-in model
SEAT has confirmed that its push towards electrification will include an all-electric car in 2020, and a plug-in hybrid version of the next Leon.
Revealed by Auto Express in January (Issue 1,509), the fully electric car will be a sister vehicle to the forthcoming Volkswagen I.D. hatchback. It will be based on the VW Group’s MEB platform, and have a claimed range of 311 miles.
No name has been issued, although the Spanish marque has previously applied to register Born-e and E-born, based on a trendy district of Barcelona.
Our image (above) showed how the MEB car could look – and a teaser picture behind SEAT’S board at its annual conference last week suggests our preview is accurate. SEAT said it will be “competitively priced” and feature “the most advanced connectivity and infotainment set-up on the market”.
SEAT also used the event to confirm a plug-in hybrid version of the next Leon. Due in the same year as its allelectric cousin, the Leon PHEV will have a pure-electric range of around 30 miles.
It’ll be part of a rationalised Leon line-up that will include a five-door and an estate, as now, but the three-door that was introduced with the current generation in 2012 will be dropped.
Oddly, SEAT appears cool on the idea of a full production run of its electric e-mii city car, a small fleet of which is undergoing limited trials in Barcelona. The manufacturer made no mention of any potential expansion of the project during the conference.