Volkswagen's Seat Brand Might Be On The Chopping Block: Report

Volkswagen Group wants to pour its resources into Cupra, which is selling quite well.

Seat Leon

Photo by: SEAT

Anthony Alaniz

By: Anthony Alaniz

Sep 3, at 1:30pm ET

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A German outlet alleges Volkswagen Group will discontinue Seat, the Spanish car brand, by the end of the decade.
VW Group’s management board has reportedly approved the decision.
The automaker’s supervisory board will see the proposal on September 4.

If the report is accurate, Seat, the Spanish car brand owned by Volkswagen Group, will be gone by the end of the decade. The German auto conglomerate is facing a series of challenges that are forcing it to make some tough decisions, and apparently Seat is not making the cut.

The German publication WirtschaftsWoche has allegedly obtained internal documents that detail the Group’s plan to phase out Seat "by the end of 2029 at the latest." The document apparently reads that "continuing Seat in its current form would tie up additional resources."

Instead, VW Group will focus on "development within the Cupra brand group." Cupra used to be Seat’s performance badge before VW Group spun it off into a standalone brand nearly a decade ago, and it’s doing quite well. Cupra sales are surging while Seat sales tumble.

Seat Leon

Photo by: SEAT

Take A Seat

Seat (Spanish for Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, or Spanish Society of Touring Automobile) was founded in May 1950 as a joint venture between the Instituto Nacional de Industria, private banks, and Fiat.

Volkswagen Group acquired 75 percent of Seat in 1986, and it has been a subsidiary ever since, but the brand has lost its luster. The brand’s last new vehicle arrived in 2020, with others refreshed instead of replaced with all-new models.

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In that time, Cupra has launched two new models—the Tavascan and the Terramar. The brand is new and hip, and the future breadwinner for the Group.

Motor1’s Take: Seat’s demise does not come as much of a shock. Volkswagen Group is in a precarious position as it struggles to compete in China and elsewhere and must strategically dedicate its resources to successful and growing brands, and that’s Cupra right now.

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Source: WirtschaftsWoche via MarketScreener

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