Automotive manufacturer Seat has shown its commitment to electrification by announcing it will pump €5bn (US$5.6bn) of investment into research and development projects to expand its range of EVs.
The company has said that by 2025 the significant investment will focus on further electrification of its model line-up. It will see vehicle development at Seat’s Technical Center, particularly towards electrifying the range, as well as equipment and facilities at the Martorell, Barcelona and Componentes plants.
With this investment, Seat is readying itself to develop new models and take on the production of new projects in Martorell.
“This investment plan is our way of dealing with the future with determination and optimism, so that we will have a stronger, more innovative and more sustainable company,” said Carsten Isensee, president of Seat.
“Our willingness is that Martorell will manufacture electric vehicles from 2025 onward, when the electric vehicle market will have grown.”
One of the first steps Seat has made is confirming the electric el-Born concept car will be launched as a Cupra model, arriving in 2021.
The el-Born will come under Seats performance brand Cupra and will be wholly designed and developed in Barcelona, and will be manufactured in Zwickau, Germany, on the MEB platform.
“The Cupra el-Born displays all the genes of the Cupra brand and is the living proof that performance and electrification are a great match. It will allow us to make an important step into the era of electrification,” said Wayne Griffiths, CEo of Cupra.
