Tag Archives: SEAT

News

SEAT is still alive

In the last few years, many thought that Seat was dead, but the Spanish brand managed to show that it is still alive and ready to give its best. The year 2023 was the best in the history of this manufacturer, and the first indicators show that the year 2024 could be more successful.

The year 2019 was really bad for Seat, and the beginning of the pandemic made it look like the manufacturer would not get away. At that time, Volkswagen decided not to pay so much attention to this manufacturer, which ultimately turned out to be a good move for Seat. From 33 million euros in 2022, the operating profit reached 625 million euros in the following year.

The beginning of 2024 shows that this year could also be successful, because the sales results in the first five months are above expectations. In the first five months, Seat delivered 121,169 new vehicles in Europe, which is a growth of 10.3 percent compared to last year when 109,827 vehicles were delivered. Also, according to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Seat sold 4,385 cars in May, which is 21.1% more than in the same month of 2023. This is the best result in the VW group.

These results were supported by the fact that customers, due to the increase in the price of electric cars, are still buying ICE vehicles. Seat has five models in its fleet (Ibiza, Arona, Ateca, Leon and Tarraco), none of which are all-electric. The Ibiza, Arona and Ateca are the best-selling models, and only the Leon and Tarraco come with hybrid versions.

Current models with refreshed editions remain on the market for at least the next four years, but the question of electrification remains open.

Source: Seat

News

Seat is coming back with an EV that will cost less than 20k euros

Although VW at the Munich Motor Show (4th Sept 2023) confirmed that the SEAT brand is to be fully replaced with CUPRA, the Spanish brand is coming back to the market with a new electric car that will cost under 20,000 euros.

Seat will soon reveal several novelties, and some of them are redesigned editions of the Ibiza and Arona models, and the Ateca SUV. All models will be powered by internal combustion engines. However, this will not be enough because due to the growth in demand for electric cars, Seat will have to return to EVs.

Before the Spanish brand fell into crisis, it achieved good results in the market with its electric model Mii Electric, which gives it hope that the same will happen with the new electric model. It will be a smaller and more affordable car, and the price is the key and decisive factor for Seat’s electric future. This means that the price must not exceed 20,000 euros, which is cheaper than the Cupra Raval.

Chinese car manufacturers are putting a lot of pressure on European manufacturers and are aggressively attacking the market of the old continent. Volkswagen is one of the companies that is trying to find a solution for this, and Seat could be the ace up its sleeve, because the survival of electrification in Europe lies in small car formats in lower price segments.

Source: Autocar

News

SEAT will not develop new cars

For a long time there were rumors that the Volkswagen Group, as the owner of SEAT, could shut down the Spanish brand. However, the information was partially correct, as it was confirmed that SEAT has a new task, but that it will not develop new cars. From now on, it will be done by the Cupra.

“The future of SEAT is the Cupra. The Volkswagen Group will continue to invest heavily in the Cupra and increase these investments,” said Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer. He also said that Cupra has become extremely attractive to customers and that it is the fastest growing brand in Europe.

Spanish car manufacturer was founded in 1950 and represents the pride of Spain. It will keep the name and the main task of the company in the future will be alternative mobility. Given that SEAT already has the MÓ range of electric scooters, this task seems ideal.

SEAT has been struggling with sales results for a long time, so the company decided that it is time to take a different path. When it comes to current production, SEAT will continue to produce cars for the next few years, but will not produce new generations of those models.

In 2018, SEAT created the Cupra brand as its independent high-performance branch. Since then, the company has been producing originally designed, exciting and attractive cars that have been well received by the market. In the first six months of 2023, Cupra sold 107,300 cars, 56.9% more than in the same period of 2022 (68,400). These are historic results and an indication that the decision to shift focus to Cupra was expected.

Source: Volkswagen Group