SEAT have announced that they will be investing five billion euros by 2025 into its electric vehicle R&D projects as they focus on further electrification of its model line-up.
The significant investment will go towards vehicle development at SEAT’s Technical Centre, particularly towards electrifying the range, as well as equipment and facilities at the Martorell, Barcelona and Components plants.
With this investment, SEAT is readying itself to develop new models and take on the production of new projects in Martorell to ensure the business is sustainable and jobs are secure for years to come.
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.
Our willingness is that Martorell will manufacture electric vehicles from 2025 onward, when the electric vehicle market will have grown.
Carsten Isensee President of SEAT
At a press conference held in CASA SEAT in central Barcelona, SEAT Vice-president for Sales and Marketing and CUPRA CEO Wayne Griffiths said: “SEAT and CUPRA are essential for the development of the company. Each one has its clear role, its own personality and attributes and addresses different customer profiles.
The company also announced that its new software development centre, SEAT:CODE, will have a new office in the heart of Barcelona’s Rambla district. With 150 software developers already at the centre, SEAT will be hiring 100 more to help drive the company’s digital transformation, creating digital products and solutions for SEAT and CUPRA, as well defining digital solutions for the Volkswagen Group.
Since the birth of CUPRA in February 2018, the brand has grown exponentially, exceeding all expectations. Following the opening of the CUPRA Garage (headquarters, opened February 2020) and the subsequent unveiling of the CUPRA Leon and CUPRA Formentor, the company today confirmed that the el-Born concept car will be launched as a CUPRA model, arriving in 2021.
The CUPRA el-Born is 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, add more sales and increase the contribution margin”, explained Wayne Griffiths , CEO of CUPRA.