Currently reading: Next Seat Exeo 'will be bespoke'

Seat will replace the Exeo with a more bespoke car

Seat’s next-generation Exeo will be less reliant on VW Group technology and be more of a bespoke Seat product, according to a company source.

The current Exeo is essentially a previous-generation Audi A4 and was born out of Seat’s desire to get a saloon car to market quickly under former president, who used to work for Audi, Erich Schmitt.

But our source confirmed that Seat would eventually replace the Exeo with a car that was more of a bespoke Seat product.

“The current Exeo was a very good solution to our desire to get a saloon to market very quickly,” said the source. “We needed to be in that segment and the old A4 was the best option, but its replacement will be very much a Seat product, relying less on VW Group technology.”

The source didn’t put a timescale on when the next Exeo would be launched, but they did confirm it would be developed at its Martorell facility in Spain. They also said that Seat had no plans to repeat what it did with the Exeo on other models.

The source compared the next Exeo to the current-generation Skoda Superb. The original Superb was heavily reliant on borrowing from the Volkswagen Passat, but the current model is much more of a bespoke Skoda product.

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It's less expensive than the car on which it is based, but underneath, is the Seat Exeo anything more than a reheated Audi A4? Time to find out

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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pitfield 5 December 2009

Re: Next Seat Exeo 'will be bespoke'

Gutted if you bought a last gen A4 last year...

Uncle Mellow 4 December 2009

Re: Next Seat Exeo 'will be bespoke'

Oh , I get it. They are trying to improve sales of the Exeo by saying the next one will not be as good as this one.

Straff 4 December 2009

Re: Next Seat Exeo 'will be bespoke'

It's a clever idea to rebadge and freshen the car then sell it through a cheaper brand for 2-3 years.This seems a complete waste of time, money and resource to me. Any of the Audi range would, in the real world, be a good car even in ten years time.

Has the recession not taught these people anything?