Everybody’s getting in on electrification these days, and you can add Seat to the growing list of automakers that are making a push for the burgeoning segment. The Volkswagen-owned Spanish automaker is planning to release a plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation Leon as the company begins its push for more all-electric cars in the future. The new Leon isn’t going to be Seat’s first all-electric car, but the model that’s going to come after it will be. The yet-to-be-named model is expected to arrive in 2019 where it will be developed alongside Volkswagen’s ID hatchback.

Should we be surprised by this? A lot of automakers are pushing for electrification, so it’s no surprise that Seat is joining in on the fun. It may not be the biggest automaker in the world, but it certainly has the backing of one in parent company Volkswagen. It only makes sense for the Spanish automaker to dip its toes in the EV scene when it has the full resources of VW to rely on.

It’s fitting, then, that the company’s new electric car is getting a lot of its parts and components from Volkswagen. Like Volkswagen’s own ID all-electric hatchback, the Seat EV will be sitting on the VW Group’s MEB architecture, the same platform that will also be used by Skoda and it’s first all-purpose electric SUV.

For its part, Seat doesn’t seem to be afraid of setting high goals for its first all-electric offering. The company already said that the model will have a range of 500 km, which converts to about 311 miles. Incidentally, the 311-mile range is also the same number being quoted by Volkswagen and Skoda for their own upcoming EVs. Notice a trend here?

With all the shared technology being used across the VW board, Seat will have its work cut it for it in trying to differentiate its EV from what other VW-owned automakers are going to do with theirs. According to Autocar, the Seat EV is being designed to be taller than Volkswagen’s ID hatch, but lower than Skoda’s electric SUV. Could it be a crossover? A high-riding sedan? There’s no word yet on that front, but our best guess is either a crossover or a bigger hatchback than the ID. Both model types fit into Seat’s portfolio.

The new all-electric model is a big part of Seat’s future. But it’s also not the be-all-end-all of the company. Eventually, the Spanish automaker also plans to add an all-electric SUV into its lineup. That’s on top of the arrival of the Tarraco SUV and the company’s plans for the fourth-generation Leon, which will carry a design that brand design boss Alejandro Mesonero described as one of the most significant models the company will build since it was relaunched in 2012. “Sometimes you need to take a bigger step so as not to be obsolete,” he said. “We’re ready very soon for the next, bolder step in design.”

References

Read our full review on the 2010 Seat Ibe Concept.

Read our full review on the 2017 Seat Leon.

Read more Seat news.