Seat confirms new SUV for 2016

Seat, the Spanish unit of Volkswagen Group, confirmed that it will launch their first ever SUV in two year’s time. Seat has been working on the design and development of this new model at its Martorell headquarters for almost over two years.

Confirmation of the production of an SUV is a clear sign of the Volkswagen (VW) Group's commitment to the Spanish brand. The demand for SUVs has increased more than 40 per cent over the past five years in Europe, and will continue to grow in the future as well.The new model will have to compete in a growing segment that represents close to ten lakh cars per year in Europe - a huge sector that the Spanish brand has been conspicuously absent from. 

The new model is likely to share engines and platform with other compact SUVs made by Volkswagen Group, such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Audi Q3, which will use the MQB modular architecture. The new SUV is likely to be available in both front- and four-wheel-drive versions, and is expected to be powered by Volkswagen's latest four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. The car is unlikely to get plug-in hybrid technology. Reports suggest that the SUV is likely to be a five-seater only and no seven-seat version is expected to be offered.

Skoda, Seat’s sister brand, has announced earlier this month that it will build a new model at its Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic. According to reports this new model will also be based on VW's MQB platform. Production of both the models is expected to begin towards the end of next year.