SEAT joins the electric revolution

SEAT is dipping its toe into the electric car market by taking the wraps off the prototype Altea XL Electric Ecomotive, the Spanish automaker’s first foray into the EV market. They have also revealed the plug-in hybrid Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive and plan to have electric and hybrid cars in production by 2015.

To test the water, SEAT will be making both models available over the next few months to government institutions in Catalonia and Madrid for use in their fleets. This will provide SEAT with plenty of valuable data which will help with getting electric and hybrid cars into full production.

The Altea XL Electric Ecomotive will have a 115bhp engine, 199lb-ft of torque and a limited top speed of 85mph. Unlike some other brands’ electric cars, this one doesn’t go out of its way to show off off-the-wall looks and instead maintains the same style as the petrol-powered Altea. As such, it still has a roomy boot and plenty of space for passengers. The batteries are under the rear seats and boot so there’s no intrusion into the cabin.

The electric Altea has regenerative braking and rooftop photovoltaic cells to recirculate fresh air inside when the car is parked in the sun, to reduce the energy needed later by the air conditioning system.

Meanwhile, the Leon TwinDrive hybrid car combines electric and petrol power. In zero-emissions electric mode, it has a range of around 32 miles and a top speed of 75mph. In combined mode, the Leon TwinDrive only uses 1.7 litres of fuel and 18.5kWh per 62 miles, the equivalent of CO2 emissions of just 39g/km. Top speed in combined mode is 105mph.

As well as these two forthcoming cars, SEAT is about to launch four models over the next 12 months, the first being the Mii urban vehicle. As soon as we have more information on this one, we’ll share (we’re nice like that at TotallyMotor).

www.seat.co.uk








By Georgia Lewis

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