Article by Wonu Ola
Until recently auto-makers who built green cars just wanted to make environmental friendly cars but with more people embracing eco-friendly cars, more automakers got involved. The eco-vehicles manufactured these days can literally compete with “normal” cars as they are now been built with consumer preferences and driving experience in mind. There have been loads of green cars and concepts revealed this year and no automaker wants to be left behind. More than 75 green cars including hybrids, clean diesel, alternative fuel and electric vehicles will be featured at the upcoming 2011 L.A Auto Show. Looks like green cars are finally here to stay.
SEAT has been committed to making green cars for some time now; they have built some stylish yet environmentally friendly cars like the SEAT Leon and SEAT Ibiza. It is a bit too early to be revealing details of cars which they would not start building until 2015, but we guess SEAT does not want to take the back seat in the Eco vehicles department this year as most major manufacturers are revealing their new designs and concepts for new hybrid and electric cars.
The Spanish automaker has announced their future plug-in hybrid – Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive and battery powered full electric car – Altea XL Electric Ecomotive. According to SEAT’s President Brit James Muir, “In Spain electric vehicle registrations were supposed to number 11,000 by now. There are currently 197 so the demand clearly isn’t there. But customers do want a more sustainable form of personal mobility and their needs are diverse. We think a parallel strategy of developing two different technologies will put SEAT in the best position to meet their needs.”
The Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive will be based on the same technology as the SEAT Leon. The new plug-in hybrid will be built with either a Vauxhall Astra GTC-style three-door or a five-door estate version. The new Leon would be able to drive as an EV for 30 miles at up to 75mph; the petrol engine will take over when the battery has used up all of its charge. A CO2 output as low as 39g/km and an average mpg of 166 is predicted with the combination of both sources of power. The SEAT Altea XL Electric Ecomotive will be an Altea XL prototype with a 85kW electric engine and a big enough boot to accommodate owner’s luggage and the car’s batteries. Both cars’ architectures will be based on models already existing in the SEAT range.
SEAT plans to start building the plug-in hybrid – Leon TwinDrive Ecomotive from 2015 and the Altea XL Electric Ecomotive from 2016.
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Go to the car leasing website to see other SEAT models with their specification and features
www.robnunnphoto.com A bit of fun shot on my HTC Desire Android Phone and edited in Premier Elements. Thanks, Rob.
