SEAT kickstarts electric offensive with Mii electric, drops petrol
SEAT’s electric offensive has begun with the Mii electric – a Volkswagen e-up! based car – with a WLTP stated range of 260km per charge.
Putting money where its mouth is, with the launch of the five-door Mii electric, SEAT says it will end production of internal combustion-powered Mii from July this year, making electric the only option for Mii customers.
Though SEAT says pricing will be announced in autumn later this year, the Spanish firm has stated the Mii electric will be both affordable and offer a low total cost of ownership.
SEAT’s first production all-electric vehicle also lays the foundations for future EV and PHEV models, including the Volkswagen ID.3-based SEAT el-Born, plug-in hybrid versions of the Leon (likely similar to the Volkswagen Golf GTE), and high-performance plug-in hybrid versions of Cupra Formentor and Cupra Leon.
“The market is changing, and electrification is expanding at an unprecedented rate. In Europe, the electric vehicle market grew by 46% in the first 4 months of the year, moving forward we expect electrified vehicles to play an important role within our range,” said Luca de Meo, president of SEAT. “The Mii electric is the start of that journey, and at the same time brings to the market an affordable electric car.”
The Mii electric’s motor serves up 83hp (61kW) and 212Nm of torque, allowing the Mii electric to accelerate from 0-50km/h in 3.9 seconds, onto a top speed of 130km/h.
The car comes equipped with CCS, allowing for its 36.8kWh lithium-ion battery to charge in 1 hour at 40kW, to 80%.
Although the Mii electric is SEAT’s first production electric vehicle, it is not the firm’s first foray into the world of electricity. In 1992, SEAT produced an electric Toledo for the Barcelona Olympics. More recently, SEAT introduced the e-Mii prototype carsharing pilot project. A fleet of five all-electric Mii prototypes are used on the roads of Barcelona, allowing more than 1,000 employees at SEAT Metropolis:Lab Barcelona and the Pier 01 Barcelona Tech City, to hop in and out of vehicles as and when they need.
SEAT Mii electric production will begin in Bratislava, Slovakia, in Q4 2019.
Jonathan Musk
Jonathan turned to motoring journalism in 2013 having founded, edited and produced Autovolt - one of the UK's leading electric car publications. He has also written and produced books on both Ferrari and Hispano-Suiza, while working as an international graphic designer for the past 15 years. As the automotive industry moves towards electrification, Jonathan brings a near-unrivalled knowledge of EVs and hybrids to Fleet World Group.
