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SEAT Working on Cheap Electric Car Platform Based on MEB

Bewitched by parent Volkswagen’s enthusiasm for electric vehicles, Spanish carmaker SEAT presented on Wednesday its electrification strategy for the next few years. And the plans are – Volkswagen is surely proud – grandiose.
SEAT goes electric by 2021 1 photo
Photo: Stefan Baldauf / Guido ten Brink
Taking advantage of the highest profit in SEAT history – nearly EUR 300 million last year – the Spanish announced that the best way to keep those number growing is to go electric with no less than six such cars to be launched by the SEAT and Cupra brands by 2021.

According to company president Luca de Meo, the first new fully electric models will be the Mii and the el-Born, whose concept was shown earlier this month in Geneva.

The rest of the electrification strategy involves plug-in hybrids. This type of powertrain will be fitted on the next generation Leon and Tarraco, but will also make it into the Cupra Leon and Cupra Formentor.

At an R&D level, SEAT received Volkswagen’s blessing to go ahead and start work on a new vehicle platform, in fact, a scaled-down version of the MEB that is supposed to permit the assembly of electric cars priced at under EUR 20,000.

MEB, or Modular Electrification Toolkit, is the backbone to be used by the VAG group for the electric vehicle invasion it plans over the next ten years.

Because it is modular, meaning it can be shortened, lengthened and otherwise modified, it can be used on various types of cars, ranging in size from SUVs to hatchbacks.

“SEAT now has a clearer role in the Volkswagen Group, and thanks to the results obtained, we have earned the new electric vehicle platform,” said de Meo in a statement.

“For the first time, the SEAT Technical Centre will be developing a platform that may be used by more brands around the globe.”

This revolutionary platform is supposed to be ready for implementation three or four years from now and “ will help democratise electric mobility.”
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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