Spanish car brand is ending production of the Altea MPV to make way for its Leon-based SUV model, which is due in 2016
The Seat Altea and larger Altea XL are being discontinued globally. It’s understood that the continuing decline in sales of MPVs in Europe has spurred Seat’s decision to cut the model from its line-up.
Official sales figures reveal that Seat sold a total of 439 Altea models in the UK during 2014, and 445 Altea XLs. By comparison, Ford shifted around 14,000 units of the B-Max in this country last year.
Seat knocked almost £4000 off the starting price of the Altea back in June, reducing the cost of the entry-level Altea from £19,345 to £15,445 and the Altea XL from £20,065 to £16,165.
Although no direct replacement for the Altea is planned, Seat is following the global shift from MPVs to SUVs by launching its own SUV model, based on the Leon hatchback, in 2016.
Intended as a rival to the Nissan Qashqai, Seat’s first SUV model is due to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March of next year. It will be followed in 2017 by a smaller SUV, designed to take on the Nissan Juke in Europe.
Seat’s decision to realign its product portfolio more towards SUVs and MPVs is nothing new. Renault famously defied convention last year by morphing its Espace MPV into a reborn crossover, while sales figures across Europe show a continuing trend towards SUVs rather than traditional saloons and MPVs.
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