Spain’s SEAT to Sell, But Not Build, EVs Locally

MADRID ─ Luca de Meo, CEO of Spanish automaker SEAT, says the Volkswagen Group subsidiary will market two all-electric vehicles before 2025.

He also says the new generation of the Leon range that is scheduled to arrive on the market in 2019 will have an “electrified” variant, which suggests a possible plug-in hybrid model.

“Both models will be built on the MEB platform of the Volkswagen group, but none of them will be built in Spain,” de Meo adds.

Volkswagen manufactures electric vehicles at three plants and plans to have 16 in 2022.

De Meo says expansion of the EV market will occur much more slowly in southern European countries than in northern ones.

Meanwhile, SEAT will concentrate on models powered by traditional internal-combustion engines.

SEAT’s global sales continue to post double-digit growth. In February, the automaker reported 39,900 deliveries, 25.9% higher than like-2017. For the year’s first two months, sales were up 23.1% at 78,800.

Spain was SEAT’s leading market in January and February with 17,100 vehicles sold, up 18.1% from prior-year, followed by Germany, up 15.0% at 13,700 units.

The automaker also performed well in Switzerland (2,100; +27.8%); France (4,300; +26.8%); Austria (3,500; +18.5%); the U.K. (6,500; +17.2%), and Italy (3,700; +12.1%).

SEAT is growing outside Europe as well. Algeria remained the brand’s fourth-biggest market in January and February after selling 4,700 cars, and deliveries to Israel rose 34.9% to 2,100.

SEAT delivered 468,400 vehicles in 2017, up 14.6% from the previous year and its best result since 2001.

Volkswagen says SEAT closed 2017 with a record €9.9 billion ($12.2 billion) in sales, 11.2% more than in 2016.