The new SEAT Leon five-door hatchback has entered production at the OEM’s plant in Martorell, Spain. It is built alongside the SEAT Ibiza, Altea and Exeo and the Audi Q3.
The company invested €800m (US$1.03bn) in the new model, most of which went towards research and development and production facilities. The new Leon secures 1,600 jobs at SEAT and an additional 6,000+ in the supply chain.
The third-generation Leon made its debut at the recent Paris motor show in September. SEAT expects the model to play a key role in its international expansion.
The five-door hatchback is the first of the new Leon model family, which will expand to include a three-door variant and a five-door estate by 2014. This is the same approach SEAT took with its popular Ibiza range. The new body styles could bring additional jobs to Martorell.
“With the new Leon we have increased productivity by 10% and become more flexible, thus guaranteeing optimisation of production costs,” commented Andreas Tostmann, SEAT Executive Vice President for Production. “The €800m investment in the new Leon consolidates our leadership position as Spain’s number one industrial investor in R&D. The Leon, together with the Ibiza, represents the very essence of SEAT. It is a vehicle that projects strength, exuding precision and quality,” he added.
The original Leon launched in 1999, followed by the second generation in 2005. Sales of the first two generations have since reached 1.2 million units. The latest model is 90 kilograms lighter and 52 millimetres shorter than its predecessor, and offers improved fuel consumption and handling with more interior passenger space and luggage capacity.
