From the boardroom: Seat Mo's move into micro-mobility

E-scooters are illegal to ride on public roads and pavements in the UK. Is this a concern for Seat Mo?

The UK government has been running a trial rental scheme for the past year to learn more about the safety of e-scooters and is potentially looking to legalise the devices next year.

“I think the UK is almost the only country in Europe which doesn't allow e-scooters on the street,” said Casanovas. “But the point is that young people need to move from A to B.

“The law should be changed. This is something that here we can try to influence a little bit, but of course we aren't the lawmakers. I think e-scooters with proper legislation are a very good means of transport.”

Why choose a Seat Mo e-scooter over other products?

Seat Mo offers two e-scooters, the larger-battery 65, which has a range of 40 miles, and the 25, which has a range of 15.5 miles.

“There's a lot of choice in front of people, particularly from China, but what you get with our e-scooters is the trust under the brand Seat," said Casanovas.

“We were convinced from the very beginning that we wanted to put the Seat name up front.

“But that brought its own pressures, because it meant we had to make sure that we offered our customers the best service and the best products. We don't want to harm or to damage our reputation.”

Will we see the Seat Minimó concept go into production?

Two years ago, Seat unveiled the Minimó concept, an electric quadricycle that looked very similar to the 1+1 Renault Twizy.

“We're sure that the Minimó will come, but the existing concepts we have right now are still not good enough," said Casanovas.

“With the Renault Twizy concept, it has two disadvantages.

"You sit very narrow and in a very low seating position, and when driving in the city where you have SUVs and buses, you can feel insecure because they're so much bigger. It’s like driving a classic Mini from the '60s.

“There's also the issue of the single door in the front to get into the back seat, which is more complicated for elderly people, so this is another reason why this concept is not ideal.”

“Then you have the Citroën Ami, which is a very good concept that's appealing to young customers, but then you can’t park in a motorcycle space, so both these cars have pros and cons.

“We keep investigating which might be the ideal concept for us. It has taken us a bit longer to come to the market with a final proposition, because both concepts have pros and cons.

“Since we just have one chance to do it right, we're analysing in detail the customer needs of the young generations.”