The chairman of Seat rules out hybrids or electric cars until 2020

Seat earned 33 million euros in operating profit in the first quarter of 2015. It is the first time it has recorded a positive figure of this kind in seven years. The change in trend is welcome news for the manufacturer within the Volkswagen group, but at the same time, its leadership and that of its parent company know that this is a delicate matter that rules out taking any more missteps for a long time.

In light of this situation, the chairman of Seat, Jürgen Stackmann, rejects any plan to introduce hybrid or electric vehicles into the range before the next decade. He confirmed this in an interview with the British magazine Auto Express. The brand cannot afford these risks at the moment and will focus on products more capable of contributing to its recovery.

According to Stackmann, the current priorities lie in the TSI three-cylinder petrol engines and the TGI compressed natural gas engines to reduce their average polluting emissions, and in new SUVs to increase their sales volume. The first one, rival to the Nissan Qashqai and company, will be launched in 2016, and afterwards the range is planned to be expanded with two others of smaller and larger size, respectively.

In 2020 a stricter emissions regulation will come into force in Europe, and in recent days the EU has urged car manufacturers to collaborate in defining an even tougher one for 2025. Although Stackmann claims that today there is a very limited demand for hybrid and electric cars from Seat customers, EU requirements will make it necessary for the brand to introduce them into its range within a five-year period at the very least.

The most recent negotiations between the European Commission and the lobby representing much of the European car industry, the ACEA, on environmental legislation have yielded almost no results. Manufacturers are reluctant to make short- or medium-term commitments and prefer to postpone the establishment of the Euro 7 standard, looking at their economic situation. Even so, industry analysts predict that most will require hybrid and electric models to comply with it in any case.

Source: Auto Express