• AUTOBEST, represented across 31 European countries, selected the new SEAT Leon as the “Best Buy Car of Europe 2021”
• The new SEAT Leon’s mix of dynamics, efficiency, advanced safety and connectivity ensured win
• Second AUTOBEST win for SEAT following Ateca taking the top honour in 2017

Milton Keynes, 15 December 2020. The new SEAT Leon has been voted “AUTOBEST 2021”, the European accolade for the “Best Buy Car of Europe 2021”.

The AUTOBEST jury, made up of a panel of 31 respected automotive journalists from across Europe, voted Leon’s blend of driving dynamics, availability of powertrains including plug-in hybrid (e-HYBRID), and advanced connectivity, as the best to enter the market this year.

The advances to the new Leon in terms of safety, including a new centre airbag, resulted in a maximum five star rating from Euro NCAP under its new, more rigorous testing standards.

This is the second time in SEAT’s 70-year history that the company has taken the top honour, following Ateca’s win in 2017. This continued success highlights the company’s dedication to developing vehicles that go beyond the ordinary and offer something truly exceptional in the market.

“We are proud that our new SEAT Leon was elected “AUTOBEST 2021”, the best possible recognition for the team that was involved in the launch of the best Leon ever. A car designed, developed and produced in Barcelona, this award gives us renewed strength to look confidently into the future. The SEAT Leon has proven generation after generation that it’s an important pillar of the segment, and the award from the AUTOBEST judges reinforces the significance the Leon has in the market,” said Wayne Griffiths, President of SEAT and CUPRA. “It has brought the segment to a whole new level, mixing impressive design with technological advances to create a vehicle that provides everything customers need.”

The SEAT Leon has a strong track record since its introduction in 1998, selling 2.3 million vehicles worldwide and each generation being more popular than the last.

The Leon’s success was built on a £1 billion investment to help raise its standards of connectivity, efficiency and safety, but also to prepare the production facility for building the new model, available as both purely combustion engine and plug-in hybrid variant (e-HYBRID).

The AUTOBEST Award is among the most prestigious in Europe and has run consecutively since its inception in 2001.

ENDS

Notes to editor:

About SEAT
SEAT is the only company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets cars in Spain. A member of the Volkswagen Group, the multinational has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona), sells vehicles under the SEAT and CUPRA brands, while SEAT MÓ covers urban mobility products and solutions. SEAT exports 81% of its vehicles, and is present in more than 75 countries. In 2019, SEAT sold 574,100 cars, posted a profit after tax of 346 million euros and a record turnover of more than 11 billion euros. 

SEAT employs over 15,000 professionals and has three production centres – Barcelona, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where it manufactures the Ibiza, Arona and Leon. Additionally, the company produces the Ateca in the Czech Republic, the Tarraco in Germany, the Alhambra in Portugal and the Mii electric, SEAT’s first 100% electric car, in Slovakia. These plants are joined by SEAT:CODE, the software development centre located in Barcelona.

SEAT will invest 5 billion euros through to 2025 in R&D projects for vehicle development, specially to electrify the range, and to equipment and facilities. The company aims to make Martorell a zero carbon footprint plant by 2050.

For more information, please contact:

Juliet Carrington, Head of Press and Public Relations
07795 166422; juliet.carrington@seatcars.co.uk

Sam Mercer, Product Affairs Manager
07557 597181; sam.mercer@seatcars.co.uk

Laura Margott, Media Relations Manager
07881 227 608; laura.margott@seatcars.co.uk

www.seatpress.co.uk

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