SEAT brand to stop making cars

Thomas Schäfer, the Volkswagen CEO who assumed the position from 1 April 2022, gave the clarification over SEAT's future at the Munich Motor Show today. 

Schafer who has been with with Volkswagen since May 2012 went on to become  a member of the Group Board of Management, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand and Head of the Brand Group Core. 

Schäfer says that future investment will be directed towards the more profitable Cupra brand, spelling the end for Seat as a mass market carmaker.

“We can’t invest in both,” explained Schäfer at the Munich motor show. “Cupra makes more sense.” The performance sub-brand of Seat has left industry onlookers scratching their heads since it was launched, but Schäfer says that Seat’s role in volume carmaking will be reduced in favour of the upstart badge.

It is thought that Seat’s more popular models – such as its Leon hatchback – will be rebadged as Cupra when they are next face lifted. Other models – including the Ibiza supermini – will be phased out at the end of their current lifecycles.

SEAT under its current name was founded on May 9, 1950, under the denomination 'Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, S.A.' (S.E.A.T.) by the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI)

SEAT hasn’t revealed any significant new models for a long time, but recent dabblings in e-scooters and ‘urban mobility solutions’ have hinted at the possible future direction for the brand. There’s also the possibility that Seat could sell a range of smaller cars on the Volkswagen Group shared platforms, insiders say. Reports also suggest '

“The company will remain as it is,” Schäfer was keen to emphasise, however, explaining that there are no plans to ditch the name entirely. The 2025 Volkswagen ID.2 will see other branded versions on sale from Cupra and Skoda built at the firm’s plant in Martorell, Spain.