Seat Delivers Two All-Electric Cars To Madrid City Hall

MADRID – Sept 24, 2012: Seat has delivered two all-electric vehicles to Madrid City Hall this week, bringing the company another step forward in its plan to add zero-emissions cars to its model range.

Against the backdrop of the startling Photovoltaic Pyramid in Madrid’s Juan Carlos I Park, Seat and Volkswagen Group’s Vice President for Governmental and Institutional Relations, Ramon Paredes, delivered two Altea XL Electric Ecomotive (e-Altea XL) cars to Madrid mayoress Ana Botella.

Madrid City Hall will add the two electric cars to its fleet for the next five months, during which time Seat will gather information and make assessments prior to full production.

SEAT’s development of environmentally friendly cars is focussing on two types of technology: plug-in hybrid and all-electric, the former with the Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive, and the latter with the e-Altea XL, which is the first all-electric vehicle to come out of Spain.

Ramon Paredes said: “At Seat we feel very proud to be collaborating once more with the city of Madrid in projects whose overarching aim is to improve citizens’ quality of life while increasing the competitiveness of the Spanish economy. Thanks to its Technical Centre for R&D, Seat is the only brand with the capacity to design, develop and manufacture an electric vehicle in Spain.”

Madrid mayoress Ana Botella thanked Seat and explained her satisfaction that the city “serves as a testing ground for a company so important for Madrid and for Spain.”

“Since its founding, Seat has been key to the modernisation of transport in our country and I hope that, now, electric vehicles will also occupy an important place on the roads,” she added.

SEAT’s e-mobility strategy has seen it loan electric vehicles to numerous companies and institutions over the last few weeks, including Spanish utilities company Endesa, the Catalan Energy Institute (ICAEN), the Institute for Energy Saving and Diversification (IDEA), and Barcelona City Hall, among others.

SEAT is currently in the first phase of its e-mobility strategy, and plans over the forthcoming months to loan further electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to Government bodies, private companies and institutions interested in eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable fleets.

The Altea XL Electric Ecomotive and Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive
The Altea XL Electric Ecomotive and Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive are equipped with different but complementary types of technology, both designed to be as environmentally solicitous as possible.

The e-Altea XL is Seat’s first all-electric vehicle, powered by a 115 PS electric motor with 270 Nm (199 lb ft), allowing it a 135 kph (84 mph) top speed, and a 135 km (84-mile) range. Its 100 kW battery is located beneath the rear seats and boot, meaning no loss of passenger space, and a photovoltaic panel on the roof cuts fuel consumption by helping to power the air conditioning. An innovative smartphone app allows the climate control and recharging functions of the e-Altea XL to be controlled remotely.

The Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive is capable of all-electric driving for a range of 52 km (32 miles) on a full charge, at speeds up to 120 kph (75 mph). It mates a 115 PS 1.4 TSI petrol engine to an 85 kW (115 PS) electric motor, for a maximum combined output of 161 PS. Despite this generous maximum power rating, the Leon TwinDrive has an average fuel consumption rating of an astonishing 1.7 litres/100 km (138.4 mpg) with 39g/km of CO2. Its top speed is 106mph.

Seat’s commitment to sustainable motoring and the environment extends to cars already on the market: 70% of Seat vehicles marketed in Spain have emissions below 130g/km. In the UK, every model in the Seat range features versions with Ecomotive Technology, including start/stop and an Energy Recovery system. The Seat Leon 1.6 TDI S Copa Ecomotive, for example, is rated at just 99g/km with 74.3mpg combined.

Seat is, together with Barcelona City Hall, both founding partner and member of the LIVE platform (Logistics for the Implementation for the Electric Vehicle). This project began in 2012, and also includes other key sector companies such as Endesa and Siemens, so as to promote the electric vehicle in the city of Barcelona. The Barcelona municipal services company B:SM has also signed up to this platform.

Additionally, Seat is a member of other projects aiming to further electrical motoring in Spain – one example is CENIT VERDE, a public/private initiative headed by Seat, which includes other companies from different sectors, as well as universities and research centres, and has the backing of the Spanish government. This project entails a holistic investigation into the basis for the successful introduction of the electric vehicle in Spain.