A lot of men and women raised their eyebrows when the Volkswagen Team determined to make Cupra a standalone brand individual from SEAT again in 2018. Nonetheless, the newcomer is blooming as income are on the increase and should be additional fueled by additional solutions that are in the is effective. But what about the regular Spanish brand from Martorell? Wholly owned by VW given that 1990, it seems as although Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo faces an unsure long run.
In an job interview with Autocar, SEAT chairman and Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer reported “we are not killing SEAT. We just will need to make your mind up its potential.” He went on to say the troubled car or truck manufacturer – which saw its revenue plummet in Europe by 45 percent in July and 42 p.c in August in contrast to the identical months of final calendar year – “is great till 2028 or 2029.” Nonetheless, it’s unclear what will happen soon after that.
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Schäfer explained to the British journal that SEAT could be reworked into a mobility brand name in the same vein as Renault’s newly proven Mobilize sub-manufacturer. Going down this highway would allow for the VW Team to avoid an overlap among the SEAT and Skoda brands, which has cannibalized income to some extent about the several years.
Meanwhile, SEAT’s head honcho sees the company as “an entry-stage quantity brand for youthful shoppers,” which would make us feel of Renault’s Dacia but with a additional upscale sense. He specified it caters to the European current market and remains particularly well-known at house in Spain but also in the United kingdom and Austria. As for Cupra, Schäfer informed Autocar it will not be chasing volume and will have “sharp positioning” when pleasing to a much more “rebellious, younger audience” than the standard manufacturer.
News about SEAT has been few and much in between while Cupra is earning the headlines more normally these times. It goes to demonstrate which of the two models is finding additional focus from its parent company.
