All three versions of the Ibiza will go on sale in China: the sporty compact three-door SC, the Ibiza ST estate, and the five-door model. Two trims will be available – Style and FR – with engines ranging from 105hp to 150hp.

SEAT has also announced plans to launch its Alhambra MPV and Ibiza Cupra, both of which will arrive during the second half of 2013.

However, the star of the company’s stand at the Shanghai Motor Show is the new Leon, which will be marketed from next year but is available to order now.

Dr Mathias Rabe, SEAT executive vice-president for R&D, introduced the new Leon SC, saying that the model ‘is not only an excellent vehicle in terms of technology, but is also a design icon. The Leon has all the ingredients to be a success in China’.

The carmaker is also celebrating its first year of sales in China, during which time it has sold almost 3,000 vehicles, all of them the second-generation Leon, and already has 12 dealerships in some of the country's major cities, after opening four points of sale in the second half of 2012.

Speaking at the show, Weiming Soh, executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China, said: ‘We can now truly say that SEAT is in China.

‘Over the next 12 months SEAT will roll out a wide-ranging product offensive,’ he commented, adding that ‘the basis for growth will be the Ibiza, the brand's most successful model in the world. We are convinced that the attractive combination of design and technology in our vehicles will seduce our demanding Chinese customers.’

Dr Rabe added that ‘with the greatest model offensive in the brand's history, with the youngest product line-up, and with the further development of our market presence, we are working on an exciting future for SEAT – in China and globally’.