Spanish cars will be produced only under the Cupra brand. Seat will probably focus on the production of electric scooters.
The Spanish automaker Seat, which is part of the Volkswagen group, will stop producing cars as before and instead focus on the production of Cupra electric cars. The Seat brand name will not disappear, but the Volkswagen Group will find another role for it. In an interview with the British automotive magazine Autocar at the Munich IAA Mobility motor show he said head of the VW brand Thomas Schäfer.
Existing Seat models will be produced until the end of their life cycle, which could be around the end of this decade. In the future, the brand will have a new role. Seat could probably focus on other means of transportation and mobility solutions, such as electric scooters. He already started with the Seat Mó model. Focusing on small cars is one of the possibilities.
“Seat is now stronger than ever. We will introduce the updated Ibiza, Arona and Leon and will offer them as plug-in hybrids until the sale of cars with internal combustion engines is definitively ended,” specified the management of the Seat car company.
“We are now looking for new forms of mobility that are more suitable for young people,” specified the management of the Spanish brand.
Schäfer said that investing in both Seat and Cupra as major brands would be untenable and that the profit potential for Cupra is much greater. Therefore, Volkswagen will invest significantly in the Cupra.
The Cupra brand started as part of Seat, but switched to producing its own models. After the Cupra Formentor comes the Cupra Tavascan. In addition, the company showed a new concept hatchback called the Cupra UrbanRebel and the Cupra DarkRebel sports car.
The production version of the UrbanRebel concept model will be called the Raval and will go into production in 2025 at Seat’s Martorello plant in Spain, alongside its platform twins from other Volkswagen Group brands, including the Volkswagen ID 2.
According to Schäfer, the investment in production in Martorello shows that Volkswagen wants to stay in Spain. This was also confirmed by the investment in a new battery factory for electric cars in Valencia.
“We have no problems with the government,” Schäfer said of the decision to end Seat production, adding that Spanish customers have also responded well to the Cupra. According to him, it has become the fastest growing brand in Europe.
Schäfer also said that there were discussions about the possibility of reviving the previously loss-making Seat brand. Ultimately, the decision to make Cupra the flagship brand was fueled by the greater earning potential and success of the new brand.
2023-09-04 14:03:48
#Seat #brand #car #production #Volkswagen #role #Currently.cz
