Spanish final
The decision against Seat is the end of the history of this formerly purely Spanish brand as a car manufacturer.
(Photo: Seat)
In the future, VW will only rely on Cupra for its Spanish subsidiary Seat. From 2030, the young, sporty brand will represent the southern European side of the group alone. At least for cars, Seat should remain as a mobility service provider and as a manufacturer of other group models, such as the upcoming VW ID.2, in the Spanish plant in Martorell, as VW CEO Thomas Schäfer explained on the sidelines of the IAA Mobility.
This decision does not really come as a surprise, as VW had mainly invested in Cupra in recent years and had clearly neglected the Seat brand. According to Schäfer, it is uneconomical to invest in Cupra and Seat at the same time. Especially since Seat has never been able to shed the image it has acquired over decades as a somewhat dusty brand, despite the recent rather brisk designs of individual models. The decision against Seat was made some time ago.
At Cupra they went the opposite way, made a new brand out of a former Seat equipment line and trimmed it to be dynamic, some say half-strong. But Cupra will ultimately be beset by the fate of having to become a purely electric brand; At the beginning of the 1930s, only electric cars were to be offered. It remains to be seen whether the intended target group will follow this path.
VW replaces Seat with the Cupra car brand
The decision against Seat is the end of the history of this formerly purely Spanish brand as a car manufacturer. Founded in 1950, Seat initially manufactured Fiat models under license. The company has belonged to the Volkswagen Group since 1986, but brought the Wolfsburg company high losses for many years.
The attempt to position Seat as a Mediterranean alternative to Alfa Romeo also failed completely. Now, with the help of the VW Group, Cupra is to take on the role that Seat has been denied.
Strikingly sporty
Cupra should convince buyers with a particularly sporty design.
(Photo: Cupra)
Due to the identical parts concept that prevails at VW, as in all car companies, it will not be easy for the young brand to position itself. In the end, the design and the corresponding advertising are all that remains for her to set herself apart from brands such as Volkswagen or Skoda.
To make matters worse, after the departure of Seat only Skoda is intended to produce cheap basic cars. For a Cupra, on the other hand, the group wants to charge and earn significantly more money for a comparable model. In order to reach the clientele with a correspondingly higher budget, it will therefore be important for Cupra to replace the chav image with a more sporty, serious charisma in the next few years.
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First publication: 06.09.2023, 09:02.