SEAT’s top brass finally decided they are willing to take the risk of entering unknown territory and launch the long-awaited SEAT SUV over the next two years. SEAT has never done a SUV before, but they have been producing the Q3 for Audi for quite a while.

SEAT’s own SUV will be VW-based, too. The car will be built upon a modified MQB platform which underpins everything these days in the Volkswagen Group. It has been in development since 2011, and SEAT is fairly confident what they’ve come up with can and will hold its own in this extremely competitive market.

The 2016 SEAT SUV, which will be more of a crossover in fact, is expected to look similar to the 2011 IBX concept pictured above. It will have uncanny resemblance to the rest of SEAT’s range, and will get the same engines that power the hatchback models. It will come with a choice of front- or all-wheel-drive.

“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.