Seat won't release an electric car while Cupra is selling them, in fear of cannibalising sales, with the car maker instead focusing on micro-mobility.

The news, confirmed by boss Wayne Griffiths, means the Spanish firm will not launch its hotly-tipped first electric model before 2026, if at all, given Cupra will release three new EVs - Tavascan, Terramar in 2024; a production version of the UrbanRebel concept in 2025 - over the next two years.

Instead Seat will be focusing on “electric micro-mobility”, building on its Seat Mó electric scooter, with which the firm will look to grow with a four-wheeler variant too, first previewed at the end of the last decade as the Minimo before being shelved due to the Covid pandemic.

“The new electric cars we are focussed on at the moment are for Cupra,” said Giffiths at the group’s annual press conference in Barcelona today. “We cannot electrify both brands at once.

“I think the idea [that the two brands] compliment each other, being in the market at the same time, particularly during this transition phase, makes a lot of sense.”

Speaking about the future of the Seat brand, especially regarding future car models, he added: “We are working on a strategy for micro-mobility to build a four-wheeler [the Minimo] and decisions on the future electrification of the Seat brand [in terms of cars] will be taken at a later date.”