Other renewables

SEAT agrees loan of two electric vehicles to Madrid City Hall

SEAT signed an agreement with Madrid City Council for the loan of two electric cars. The two electric vehicles are the León Twin Drive Ecomotive model, SEAT’s first ever hybrid plug-in, with a range in electric mode of up to 50 km and a top speed of 190 kph. The León Twin Drive Ecomotive, equipped with an electric motor and internal combustion engine, manifests SEAT’s commitment to the development of the electric vehicle in Spain.

The agreement was signed at Madrid City Hall this morning, at an event attended by Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, plus Pedro Calvo, city councillor for Safety and Mobility; Ramón Paredes, Executive Vice-president for Governmental and Institutional Relations both for SEAT and the Volkswagen Group in Spain, and Vicente Adrián, director of SEAT España. The agreement signed today with Madrid City Council is the second of its kind, following that reached last July with the Generalitat (Catalan autonomous government) and Barcelona City Hall.

To quote Ramón Paredes, the loan agreement for the two León Twin Drive cars shows that “SEAT is pioneer in the development of the electric vehicle and in electromobility-related technology in Spain, thereby contributing to the overall aim of transforming our country’s economic model by means of activities generating high added value”.

The Spanish multinational is the only company with the capacity to develop electric vehicles in Spain. In addition to the León Twin Drive, SEAT also unveiled the IBE 2.0 – a concept car with an electric-only motor – at the last Paris Motor Show. It also heads Cenit Verde, a project initiated by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, bringing together 15 companies as well as14 universities and technological centres, in order to develop the necessary technologies and components for hybrid and electric cars.

SEAT’s commitment to environmental protection and the reduction of emissions in its vehicles is already patent in its Ecomotive vehicle range. SEAT was market leader in 2010, and has already begun 2011as the best-selling brand. The company is also leader in the greencar segment, with one of every two of its cars sold having CO2 emissions below 130 g/km.