New SEAT Leon goes in to production

The new SEAT Leon (2013) – revealed at the Paris Motor Show – has started production in Spain ahead of first deliveries in March 2013.

SEAT has invested heavily in the Martorell plant in recent years – a shining light of success in a sea of Spanish manufacturing despair – with a £650 million investment in new facilities and R&D making Martorell a modern and efficient facility for the new Leon as well as the Ibiza, Altea and Exeo (and the Audi Q3).

Not only has the investment in Martorell secured the jobs of 1600 Spanish workers (and four times as many in the supply chain), it promise more jobs too if the Leon turns out to be as appealing as it looks.

The Leon is a more dramatic take on the VW MQB platform (the same platform that underpins the new Golf and Audi A3) than the Golf, and offers prices a touch lower than SEAT’s German parent.

There’s a choice of eight engines on offer from the 1.2 litre Leon S at £15,670 and rising to £22,635 for the Leon FR 2.0 TDI with the DSG ‘box, and with the introduction of the three door and, for the first time, the Leon Estate, the Leon looks a strong and promising offering from SEAT.

First UK customer cars will arrive in Spring 2013.

2013 SEAT Leon Photos >>

By Cars UK