SEAT to Drop Small Minivan, Add SUV

Volkswagen AG's SEAT unit will phase out its Altea small minivan next year and replace it with the brand's first small SUV/crossover vehicle, Automotive New Europe reports.

Sister division Skoda will build the car, including a variant to market under its own brand. ANE says SEAT plans to expand its crossover lineup with a smaller model in 2017 and a larger vehicle in 2020.

Next year's compact crossovers will share VW's front-wheel-drive "MQB" platform, which also carries VW's Tiguan small crossover. The model will compete with the Fiat 300X and Renault Captur.

ANE notes that demand for the Altea rose 10% to 10,500 units in the first half of 2015. But that was less than one-fifth the volume of the segment leader Renault Scenic. Analysts expect the SUV/crossover segment in Europe to surpass 2 million units in 2020 from fewer than 500,000 in 2006.