Next Seat Exeo will be bespoke

SEAT�s next-generation Exeo will be less dependent on VW Group technology and be more of a bespoke SEAT product, according to a company source. The current Exeo is basically a previous-generation Audi A4 and was born out of SEAT�s desire to get a saloon car to market quickly under former president, who used to work for Audi, Erich Schmitt.

But our source confirmed that SEAT would eventually replace the Exeo with a car that was more of a bespoke Seat product.

�The current Exeo was a very good solution to our desire to get a saloon to market very quickly,� said the source. �We needed to be in that segment and the old A4 was the best option, but its replacement will be very much a Seat product, relying less on VW Group technology.�

The source didn�t put a timescale on when the next Exeo would be launched but they did confirm it would be developed at its Martorell facility in Spain. They also said that SEAT had no plans to repeat what it did with the Exeo on other models.

The source compared the next Exeo to the current-generation Skoda Superb. The second-generation Superb was heavily reliant on borrowing from the Volkswagen Passat but the current model is much more of a bespoke Skoda product.