SEAT is to allocate over €900 million to developing the new Ibiza and Arona.

Company President Luca de Meo explained during a visit by Catalan Government President Carles Puigdemont that the total amount of investments and R&D expenses has largely been allocated to the development of both models and to adapting the Martorell factory to accommodate production of these cars. The €900 million amount is a part of the global investment of 3.3 billion euros announced in September 2015 for the 2015-2019 period.

Wholly developed in Barcelona, the new Ibiza is being built in Martorell, the factory which produces the most vehicles in Spain, and it will coexist for a few months with the fourth generation of the model. Beginning in the second half of 2017, this same production line will also accommodate the assembly of the SEAT Arona, the company's new compact crossover. In addition, Martorell also manufactures the SEAT Leon and the Audi Q3.

"Being the first to use the Volkswagen Group's new MQB A0 platform is a milestone for SEAT and for the Martorell factory. This technology gives us greater flexibility as it enables us to build several models with different body types on the same platform. In addition, by concentrating production volume in a single segment, with the Ibiza now and later with the Arona and the Audi A1, is excellent news for the auxiliary industry as purchasing volumes by national suppliers will increase", said Luca de Meo.

With over 5.4 million units sold since its launch in 1984, the Ibiza is SEAT's most emblematic and best-selling model in its history. SEAT is one of the major pillars of Spanish economy and the automotive industry leader, and currently accounts for around 1% of Spain's GDP and more than 4% of Catalonia' GDP. Last year the company exported more than €7 billion worth of goods, a figure which is over 10% of the total Catalan exports. With more than 14,000 employees in Catalonia, SEAT is the largest employer and generates six jobs for each direct job.