SEAT has confirmed it is to launch a third SUV - reinforcing the product offensive that began with the Ateca.

The new large SUV will become the brand’s flagship model. Set to be positioned one segment above the Ateca, it will feature 5 and 7-seater versions, and will reach dealerships in 2018. It will be built at parent company Volkswagen’s plant in Wolfsburg, enabling improved synergies within the Group by maximising the MQB A2 platform which is already installed there.

The announcement was made in Barcelona during the presentation of SEAT’s annual results. The company posted the best result in its history, with an operating profit of 143 million euros in 2016.

Prior to the new flagship’s launch and in the second half of this year, SEAT will begin marketing the Arona, a compact crossover that will be manufactured in Martorell on the same platform as the Ibiza.

SEAT President Luca de Meo expressed his satisfaction with the new SUV: “This car will bring new customers to us, will boost brand image and will have a very big effect on our ability to generate margins. It will be designed in Barcelona and made in Germany. Producing the new SUV in Wolfsburg, in the heart of the Group, will reinforce the ties between SEAT and Volkswagen”.