2020 Seat El-Born: new details revealed for electric hatchback

The Seat El-Born has been pictured undergoing testing, revealing more of the brand's first electric vehicle ahead of its official launch.

The model, named after a fashionable Barcelona neighbourhood, has been updated from prior spy shots with less disguise and a redesigned rear bumper, which more closely matches the dimensions and details seen on the original Geneva motor show concept (below). 

It also appears to gain separate rear light clusters, in place of the full-width strip seen on earlier prototypes, and aerodynamic alloy wheels.

Autocar was told last year that the Geneva concept was 95% production ready, with only a few minor changes coming ahead of production, and that appears to be the case. 

The El-Born will be the second EV built on the VW Group’s MEB electric architecture to go on sale when it is launched this year, after the Volkswagen ID 3 hatchback. The engineering and powertrain of the two compact models are expected to be closely aligned, with a range of power outputs offered. 

The El-Born concept featured a 62kWh battery mounted in the skateboard chassis, with an electric motor making 201bhp. Seat claims it will achieve 0-62mph in 7.5sec.

It will be compatible with 100kW DC rapid charging, allowing the battery to be filled from empty to 80% in 47 minutes. The total range is quoted at 261 miles for this concept. It will also feature a thermal management system to maximise range in hot weather. 

The El-Born features a similar hatchback profile to the ID 3 and styling that showcases what Seat design chief Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos calls “the ultimate translation of our emotional design language into the new world of electrical vehicles”. He added that “we have to make customers fall in love with the idea” of an EV.