Goodbye, Seat

A few years ago, visionary Sergio Marchionne, who passed away in 2018, predicted that some car brands would disappear in the future. The prospects of the former CEO of FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Group were recently confirmed. And the next victim is SEAT. Seat: The Volkswagen Group’s Spanish brand has been discontinued.

The Spanish Volkswagen Group brand will cease to exist within a few years. However, this does not mean that the seats will disappear. In fact, the VW Group is transforming the car manufacturer into a mobility company. Volkswagen Group CEO Thomas Schäfer told British magazine Autocar during the Munich Motor Show in Germany that the brand as we know it will not survive and that He said he was going to take a different path. As the maker of models such as the Ibiza, Arona, León, Tarraco and Ateca, Seat will stick with that model for the time being. This means that the Spanish brand’s products will be retained throughout their lifecycle, but will not be replaced by new generations. Production of the car will be maintained by another derivative brand, Cupra.
Cupra has been his own independent brand since 2018 and, in addition to the station wagon version, can also compete with some Seat models such as the León Hatch. Since the VW Group CEO himself has said, “The future of seats is Cupra,” there is a possibility that a future design change could come up with the idea of ​​replacing the seat logo with Cupra.

In any case, Cupra is set to receive new investment in the coming years and the VW board said the public is committed to the brand. Because of this, Cupra is one of the fastest growing brands in Europe these days and is planning to launch new models such as the Terramar SUV and Tavascan, DarkRebel and Raval models. SEAT’s rapid rise in EUA began in 1995, when the company launched models such as the Ibiza sedan, Inca van and Cordoba sedan, followed by the Argentine exotic Cordoba Vario station wagon. However, in order to maintain its status as an imported brand of the VW Group in EUA, its price was higher than that of its parent automaker, making it difficult to sell it domestically.

Sales of the “hot-blooded imports” did not increase, and they were officially exported overseas in 2002. But that didn’t stop fans of the brand from keeping their memories alive. This is the case of Ranch Oliver, 23, resident of Seattle City and owner of his 1995 Seat Cordoba GLX in Aosta Green. The Aosta Green Seat Cordoba GLX is the brand’s first fun car.
Laurent said he first bought this car through a long-time friend of his. The mileage is 68,000km, some customization has been done, and many original parts remain. Despite the small market and low awareness of the model, he says the brand still has a loyal audience. “There are very few units left. You hardly ever see anyone talking about the very rare SEAT Toledo, which only exists in Cordoba, Ibiza, Barrio, or even EUA,” he commented.

Despite the niche audience, Laurent maintains and manages Seat.Br, a group for fans of the brand that brings together models of the Spanish brand in EUA. “I think very few people in the auto industry or within the brand like SEAT or have a history with SEAT,” he says.