Seat has only just launched the Ateca, and announced the imminent arrival of the smaller Arona, but is already actively considering ways to broaden its new SUV portfolio. Luca de Meo, the company’s CEO, said at Geneva that the company is both considering new variants and sportier versions.
“The next big thing will be about the reinterpretation of the SUV,” he said, “all the possible shapes, variation on theme and variation on the topics. The SUV is not a fashion thing, it’s a strength. It is a new interpretation of the sports car.”
De Meo said that Seat’s move to chase more affluent buyers – the average transaction price of its cars is moving north of €20,000 across Europe – has sharpened its appeal for aspirational cars. Although he didn’t commit to any specific models, he confirmed that a coupé version of the Ateca with a lower roofline is being actively considered, alongside a bigger model which we’ve already reported on, and which will almost certainly follow the Skoda Skoda Kodiaq in offering seven seats.
Seat considering sports crossover
“I can’t say today but we’re working on it, we see opportunities,” de Meo said, before cautioning that Seat needs to be careful not to do exactly what its sister brands are already offering: “if everybody goes up [in size] in the group then we will all end up doing exactly the same thing.”
Faster SUVs also seem to be highly likely, with de Meo admitting that he wants to increase the number of Cupra models, and saying that he has no problem with a performance SUV. “I see additional possibility in leveraging the whole story of Cupra. I don’t want to be more precise than this, but you need to remember that I represented Abarth when I was at Fiat, so I know this kind of thing can work – but you have to do it right.”
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