SEAT has confirmed that it will produce a new compact SUV model, which will come to market in 2016.

The Spanish company has been working on the design and development of the new model at its Martorell facility for almost two years.

“This is an excellent piece of news, since it takes SEAT into a new territory, in one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the world,” declared SEAT Chairman Jürgen Stackmann today in the Annual Results Press Presentation. “The SUV is an important pillar in the future corporate strategy and is a major step forward on the road to reaching sustainable profitability for the company,” he added.

This year at the Geneva Motor Show, SEAT displayed their Concept IBX which is expected to be the base for the new SUV. Based on VW's MQB platform that underpins the Seat Leon, along with other group models such as the Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia the new car is probably going to be built alongside the Skoda Yeti at Skoda's plant in Kvasiny, in the Czech Republic.

Confirmation of the production of a SEAT SUV is a clear sign of the Volkswagen Group’s commitment to the Spanish brand and they will be hoping that this new car will be the catalyst that drags the SEAT brand back to profitability. Volkswagen Group will add the compact SUV to its Seat division's lineup in 2016 to win new customers and accelerate a turnaround at VW's only unprofitable unit.

The new model marks Seat's entry into a growing market segment that represents sales of almost 1 million cars annually in Europe and has increased by more than 40 percent over the last five years,

The new SUV will further broaden SEAT’s product range, enabling the brand to maintain its current growth momentum following the successful launch of the Leon family, which is receiving numerous accolades and awards across Europe.