All of this might well change but as of now, SEAT is believed to be headed for reinvention as a cheap brand, much like Dacia. Before that happens, there will be facelifts in 2025 for the elderly but still appealing Ibiza, Arona and Ateca, extending their life cycles well beyond the usual seven- to eight years of mainstream Volkswagen Group vehicles.
Already, the SEAT range is being rationalised too, with the end of the Tarraco earlier in 2024. An official statement about plans out to the 2030s is awaited. At least there are rumours of a low-priced EV coming in 2026. The company would do well to make this and any other future model news official. Failing to do so risks resale values of existing cars being destroyed and the brand image collapsing.
The overall strategy seems sound, for now at least, with the best financial results yet announced in August. An operating profit of 406 million euro for calendar H1, as well as record sales revenue and return on sales registered for a first half year is a strong position to be. Clearly, the two-brands plan is working. What then might the higher margins division of SEAT S.A. have up its sleeve to continue this progress?
Cupra
What started out as the DarkRebel concept car, debuting in the metal at the Munich IAA two years ago, is now confirmed for production. To be badged ‘Raval’, this EV will be manufactured at the Martorell base of SEAT commencing in the final quarter of 2025.
A front-wheel drive crossover, and one of if not the first vehicle for the Volkswagen Group’s MEB Entry platform, the Raval should offer several battery packs (38 kWh and 56 kWh) along with motor choices which have outputs ranging from 166 kW to 250+ kWh. About a year after sales commence, Cupra should launch a two-motors variant expected to be called ‘VZ’ and closely linked to the VW ID.1 GTI.
The VZ badging is speculative but such a high performance car already exists in the Born line-up. Announced back in February with deliveries starting in August, it boasts a combined 240 kW and 545 Nm, while a 79 kWh battery replaces the 77 kWh one.
Still RWD (i.e. not four-wheel drive), the Born VZ also comes with a bigger screen and illuminated HVAC/volume sliders, new seats plus retuned steering and suspension, with three levels of braking regeneration instead of one. Top speed, at 200 km/h, is one other change over lesser Born variants.
Formentor, Terramar, Tavascan
In other 2024 news, the Formentor was facelifted in May. At the same time, a 245 kW 2.0-litre turbo engine was new for this model, as was a 200 kW PHEV powertrain (called eHybrid). The 1.5-litre mild hybrid turbo continues, as does the 150 kW 1.5-litre PHEV.
In production for just a few weeks now, the Terramar is Cupra’s latest additional model. Premiering at The America’s Cup in Barcelona during September, it is named after a motor racing circuit in nearby Sitges. This could well be the final Cupra not to be native-electric. The brand is due to be EV-only in 2030.
Offering mild and plug-in hybrid power choices, the Terramar is the platform (MQB Evo) and production twin of the next Audi Q3. Each is manufactured in Györ by Audi Hungaria and should remain so until being phased out at decade-end, though that might be delayed for a year or two. Powertrains are:
110 kW (150 PS)
1.5 eTSI (MHEV) FWD & 7-speed DSG
150 kW (204 PS) 2.0 TSI
195 kW (265 PS) 2.0 TSI (petrol)
150 kW (204 PS) e-Hybrid (PHEV)
200 kW (272 PS) e-Hybrid (PHEV)
SEAT S.A. suddenly has a corporate headache from one other new Cupra, the Tavascan. This is due to where it is built. Suddenly the business case for exports of this electric crossover out of the Volkswagen Anhui plant in Hefei has become problematic. And yet until the spat between the European Union and the government of China, this all looked to be a smart move. The platform (MEB), battery and other major components are shared with various Volkswagen ID. models, for example.
The Cupra that's also a Volkswagen
Presuming the trade dispute can be worked out, the Tavascan should have an eight-year life cycle in European markets with a facelift in 2027/2028. The same applies to the lightly altered model for the Chinese market, which is sold there as the VW ID. UNIX.
Other future Cupra developments should include a facelift for the Born in 2025, a Leon successor in 2027, as well as a Formentor replacement in 2028. The last of these three will be either available as an EV or EV-only. The original dates to 2020 and has had petrol, diesel and petrol PHEV powertrains. Formentor Mk 2 should have SSP, a yet to be seen architecture that is due to eventually replace MEB and PPE.
Finally, the largest Cupra yet should arrive some time between 2029 and 2031. Wayne Griffiths, the head of SEAT and Cupra, stated in March that this model will be an electric crossover. He added that when the brand launches in the USA (it has long been present in North America via a successful import business to Mexico), the big EV will be built in a regional Volkswagen Group plant. An electric Formentor is proposed as another model for the US market.
"SEAT and Cupra future models 2024-2034" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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