A few days ago the news "broke" that Seat was "officially" dead in favor of Cupra. The rumors and the lack of a strategic plan for the Spanish company were, in theory, palpable proof that the Bavarian consortium does not have it as a key piece in its future as a car manufacturer, or at least that is what they make us intuit. But, surprise, now Thomas Schäfer comes to the fore to say the opposite. So, without getting into judgment, who is right in this crazy situation?
With the detours aside, let's get down to business. Schäfer has published a post on his official LinkedIn account in which he talks about the present and future situation of Seat. In addition, he also tells us what plans the Volkswagen Group has for the Free Trade Zone, which is the industrial hub where the Martorell company has its headquarters and factory. We have already talked to you about them but these words are calmer and perhaps… they give us some hope?
Seat, according to Thomas Schäfer, is not dead... and he argues like this...
To avoid giving judgments that may cause more controversy, we are going to translate the post that Thomas Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Head of Brand Group Core has published on his official LinkedIn account. Then when you read it you will draw your conclusions, because we may still miss some details...
«The first days of #IAA Mobility have demonstrated the Brand Group Core strength. Together, we are fulfilling our vision: cutting-edge technology from the most desired brands at competitive costs. And Seat SA and Cupra embody these values."
«Despite inaccurate information from some media, the brand #SEAT is stronger than ever. Demand for SEAT remains at very high levels and sales so far this year have grown by 18%, reaching nearly 200.000 cars sold. Customer orders for the main SEAT Ibiza, Arona and León models are at record levels. At the same time, the brand plans update these three models to continue offering super-efficient internal combustion engines and also PHEV with the successful León»
"Long-term, Seat has an excellent opportunity to offer new forms of mobility that young people need, such as shared use, subscriptions and micromobility, where we already have a lot of experience with Seat MÓ»
She is more alive and stronger than ever. Really? It seems…
If we read the first paragraph, it seems to be clear that the media distorted the words of those responsible for the Bavarian group. But how can we not split hairs when they have been giving imprecise information for months? What does it cost you to say that Seat has no future? The result would be a brutal flight of customers, salespeople would go to rival brands and the sales network would become angry. But of course, Cupra is Seat and even though they don't make as much money with it, it keeps them alive.
In the second paragraph they tell us that Their sales are strong with an increase of 18% and that there are requests "to a helmet." Therefore, to "stay strong" they are going to update the Ibiza, Arona y Leon with even electrified versions to maintain a very efficient thermal range. The problem is that Seat does not need models that only "drink" gasoline, but rather, in our view, needs a new range of electrics, which today is not even expected.
The reason is in the third paragraph, in which it says that Seat has an excellent opportunity to offer new forms of mobility. And he explains them in a few words "shared use, subscriptions and micromobility" so we return to the point where we were before. The Martorell house will probably stop manufacturing and selling cars as until now to do it with scooters, electric motorcycles and light quadricycles “economical” for shared use.
However, the sad thing is that His post does not end up encouraging Seat, but rather talking about Cupra and all the successes you are achieving. It is best that you read his post and draw your conclusions so that you understand what the situation is.
Source - Thomas Schafer LinkedIn
More information about this model
- Plazas 5
- Power 110 - 204 hp
- Consumer goods 1,1 - 5,6l/100km
- Assessment 4,6