“Seat is not dead!” Says the Volkswagen boss. ‘But …’

Seat dealers are angry, we know that. All Volkswagen Group brands have electric models, but Seat does not. And that’s not helping the Spanish brand’s sales. There are rumors that Seat will be ditched, but Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer insists that is not the case.

“We will not let Seat die,” he told British Autocar. “We just have to make a decision about the future of the brand.” Okay, so what is it? Because within the Volkswagen Group, attention is primarily focused on the sporty Cupra, which has electric models and is growing rapidly.

Cupra was once the sporty sub-brand of Seat

Cupra was once Seat’s sports label, but became a brand in its own right in 2018. It sells more expensive models at a higher margin and is coming to market with several electrified and all-electric cars like the Tavascan, Terramar, and UrbanRebel in the near future.

Seat sales are under a lot of pressure

Seat sales are under pressure. Compared to July and August 2021, the manufacturer sold 45 and 42 percent less respectively in the same months this year. Seat is the only brand in the Volkswagen Group that does not have an electric model.

Seat should be fine by 2028 or 2029, says VW boss

Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer tries to sound positive about Seat’s future, but he doesn’t quite succeed. “We are still working on a plan for Seat. Until 2028 or 2029 it is possible. It is an entry-level brand for young customers.”

This is a more recent positioning, because previously Seat was just a sporty player in the Volkswagen Group. Do you remember? car emotion. But with the arrival of Cupra, Seat has lost this position and hovers aimlessly and imagelessly between Skoda and Volkswagen.

Seat can become a mobility brand

With his claim that Cupra is the future of Seat, Schäfer will probably not be able to alleviate the unrest among Seat dealers. “Cupra is Seat, but reinvented. Cupra will progress significantly faster in its development towards an all-electric brand.”

Schäfer also suggests that Seat could become a mobility brand. In this way, the Skoda brand does not stand in the way and can still find its own direction. Three years ago, Seat introduced the Minimo, a Renault Twizy-like study model of an electric sharing car.