Martorell

The headquarters and main manufacturing facilities of the company are located in Martorell, an industrial town approximately 30 km northwest of Barcelona,^[6] with an annual production capacity of around 500,000 units.^[7] On 22 February 1993, King Juan Carlos of Spain inaugurated this plant, which became the main plant of SEAT and was accompanied by its assembly plant at the coast in Barcelona's free port zone (Zona Franca). There is a rail link connecting SEAT's Martorell and Zona Franca facilities, which facilitates the transportation of vehicles and parts between the two locations.^[8][9]

The Martorell industrial complex houses numerous facilities, including Cupra Racing^[10] (formerly SEAT Sport),^[11] SEAT's Technical Center, Research and Development Center (R&D),^[12] Design Center,^[13] Prototypes Centre of Development,^[14] SEAT Service Center, which includes the After-Sales Service and Customer Services divisions, as well as the Catalunya Motor dealership,^[15] and the Genuine Parts Centre for SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi, and Škoda brands.^[16] The factory in Martorell can sometimes assist the former SEAT plant in Pamplona, which is now owned by Volkswagen-Audi-Espana, S.A.^[17]

The models produced at Martorell includes: Arona, Formentor, Ibiza, Leon, Leon Sportstourer and Audi A1.^[18]

• SEAT Technical Centre,^[19] located in Martorell, is focused on R&D. More than 1,294 people work there. In that centre, SEAT fully develops new vehicles. The centre covers a surface area of 200,000 m². They use virtual reality technologies in order to design the “new SEAT” cars.
• SEAT Design Center:^[20] it officially opened in 2007 and is located within the SEAT Technical Center. This facility brings the entire design process together. As of 2020, 100 people work there.
• Prototype Development Centre (PDC) ^[21] was inaugurated in 2007 and is one of SEAT's main projects. It consolidates the activities related to the initial phases of the design and development of a new model. It brings together the knowledge, personnel and resources of the Prototype departments of the SEAT Technical Centre and the Pilot Workshop of Process Engineering in Martorell under one roof.
• Spare Parts Centre is an area with 75,000 m² that distributes parts and components to SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi and Škoda dealers in Spain, to SEAT dealers in Portugal and also to SEAT importers all over the world.
• SEAT Service: The After-Sales Service, SEAT Technical Training Centre and Catalunya Motor dealership. This facility covers a surface area of 8,000 m². As of 2020, the workforce is 170 employees.
• Cupra Racing (former SEAT Sport): this facility covers a surface area of 16,000 m² and is close to the manufacturing plant and the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell. This centre is where SEAT adds sporty finishes to the SEAT range and prepares different competition models, such as the Cupra León Competition or the Cupra e-Racer.

Zona Franca

SEAT's Training Centre in Barcelona's Zona Franca

SEAT's factory in Barcelona's Zona Franca started its activities in 1953 and was the production facility where the first SEAT models such as the SEAT 1400 and the 600 were built. In 1993, the car production began to get transferred to the new Martorell plant, and since then, the Barcelona factory has been producing parts such as doors, roofs, fenders and chassis.

80% of the production^[22] of the parts for the MQB A0, the compact modular platform of the Volkswagen Group on which the Ibiza and Arona are based, is carried out in these facilities, as well as most of the stamped parts for all other SEAT models. The development and assembly facilities are some of the newest within the Volkswagen Group, with the ability to produce cars^[23] not only for its own brand but also for other Volkswagen Group brands, such as Volkswagen and Audi.^[24] For example, the development and design of several Audi models (e.g. the Audi A1,^[25] the Audi A3 Sportback,^[26] the Audi Q5, etc.) and also several Audi development projects took place there.^[27]

This plant is an industry benchmark, as it features elements such as the virtual simulation of the PXL press, 3D printing in the maintenance workshop, the automatic shifting between sealing tips of the robots in the body shop, and the automation of the logistics flow through automated guided vehicles.

The Barcelona Zona Franca site includes the SEAT Training Centre,^[28] the Zona Franca Press Shop factory, producing stamped body parts, and the Barcelona Gearbox del Prat plant, producing gearboxes not only for SEAT but also for other Volkswagen Group marques (Volkswagen, Audi, and Škoda);^[29] the latter plant was awarded the Volkswagen Excellence Award in 2009 by the Volkswagen Group for high-quality production process and product.^[29]

Other manufacturing plants

Another plant owned directly by SEAT from 1975^[30] was the Landaben plant in Pamplona, but in December 1993 its ownership was transferred to the Volkswagen Group subsidiary "Volkswagen-Audi-Espana, S.A.",^[17] and the site today is producing Volkswagen cars in Spain.^[31] However, SEAT's Martorell site still provides support to Volkswagen's operations in the Pamplona plant when necessary, as it did after a serious fire in the paint shop in the Landaben VW plant in April 2007.^[32]

SEAT's Pavilion at Autostadt, Wolfsburg

Factories of the Volkswagen Group currently producing SEAT models also include the Bratislava site in Slovakia, the Volkswagen Zwickau-Mosel Plant in Zwickau, Germany (where the Cupra Born EV model is produced alongside the Volkswagen ID.3 Electric vehicle); the AutoEuropa factory in Palmela, Portugal,^[33] and Wolfsburg in Germany.^[34] Since 2016, SEAT also holds a museum in the Zona Franca's 'Nave A122' site, which hosts all production and prototype models ever presented by SEAT together with some special or limited edition vehicles with historical value for the brand and the automotive history of Spain.^[35]

Among SEAT's subsidiaries, the SEAT Deutschland GmbH subsidiary company is based in Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany, and apart from its commercial activities, has the further responsibility of operating SEAT's electronic platform, the SEAT IT Services Network.^[36] In Wolfsburg, Germany, in the middle of a lake inside the Autostadt, the Volkswagen Group's corporate theme park,^[37] is SEAT's thematic pavilion, one of the largest pavilions in the park.^[38]

Other company facilities

• Casa SEAT: is a benchmark urban mobility promotional lab and was inaugurated in June 2020. It is located in Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona and is SEAT MÓ's headquarters.^[39]
• SEAT: CODE (Center of Digital Excellence) is the software development centre. Since its establishment in 2019,^[40] it has led the company's digital transformation and created digital solutions to boost SEAT, CUPRA and SEAT MÓ. In July 2020, this centre inaugurated its headquarters in Barcelona.^[41]
• SEAT's dealers: Besides selling SEAT and CUPRA, some also offer second-hand vehicles or KM0 under the company DasWeltAuto, belonging to the Volkswagen Group. Many dealers also offer maintenance, parts, supplies and repair of the models. Outside Spain, SEAT has distributors in more than 70 countries.   
• SEAT Componentes produces gearboxes for SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi and Škoda in its factory in El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona). It was founded in 1979; the facilities cover more than 150,000 square meters and have a manufacturing capacity of up to 3,500 gearboxes daily, in a complete process that goes from the foundry to assembling and quality control. In 2020 this facility had more than 1,000 employees and produced two different gearbox models: the MQ200 and the new MQ281.^[42] Their combined maximum capacity is 800 thousand gearboxes per year.

Establishment

Spain is the world's eighth-largest manufacturer of automobiles. Its car market stands among the largest in Europe.^[57][58] However, this has not always been the case; in the first half of the 20th century, Spain's economy was relatively underdeveloped compared to most other Western European countries and had a limited automobile market. In this period, car production was limited, with only a few low-volume local manufacturers catering mainly to the luxury end of the market, of which Hispano-Suiza was the most successful. Spain's limited market for mass-produced vehicles was taken over by foreign companies operating through subsidiaries that either imported cars or assembled cars from imported parts, depriving the country of the technological know-how and large investments needed for mass production. The situation greatly deteriorated with the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. Car demand collapsed not only due to the greatly reduced purchasing power of Spaniards caused by war devastation but also because the multinational subsidiaries either ceased operations or were severely stricken by the war and its aftermath.^[59]

SEAT's first emblem

The lack of interest shown by the foreign firms in the weakened post-civil war Spanish market opened an opportunity for local interests.^[60] SEAT dates its origins back to June 22, 1940, when the Spanish bank 'Banco Urquijo', with the support of a group of industrial companies, (Hispano-Suiza, Basconia, Duro-Felguera, S.E. de Construcción Naval, Euskalduna, S.E. de Construcciones Metálicas, Fundiciones Bolueta, Echevarría, etc.) founded the 'Sociedad Ibérica de Automóviles de Turismo' (S.I.A.T.) to establish Spain's own mass production car maker. The initial Banco Urquijo's project aimed at running the S.I.A.T. motor company as a fully private enterprise, but soon after 1941, the interventionist state holding company Instituto Nacional de Industria followed a decision taken by the Franco government on January 3, 1942.^[61] The goal for the new national car brand was not to be only another licensee car maker assembling foreign designs and parts in Spain, but of developing the whole manufacturing process from design to assembly within Spain. Because of the country's lack of expertise in automotive mass-production development, finding a foreign partner that would contribute technically and with its models in the early years in exchange for cash, shares, bonds, and royalties became the course of action. With the rest of Europe having entered World War II, and Spain itself in ruins from its civil war, the project was delayed but not abandoned due to its strategic importance.

José Ortiz-Echagüe Puertas, SEAT's first president, was in 1976 made honorary president for life.

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) with a starting capital of 600 million pesetas – equivalent today of almost 3.6 million euros – in the form of 600,000 shares of 1000 pesetas each, and in a time when the country needed remodelling the fundamental structures in its national economy, just after the end of World War II. The birth of SEAT came almost a year and a half after the Spanish government and six Spanish banks ('Banco Urquijo', 'Banco Español de Crédito (Banesto)', 'Banco de Bilbao', 'Banco de Vizcaya', 'Banco Hispano-Americano', and 'Banco Central') had signed on October 26, 1948, an alliance contract with the Italian car manufacturer Fiat to form a partnership with a foreign ally to bring to life Spain's major car manufacturer.^[62] The favoured bidders were Germany's Volkswagen and Italy's Fiat. Fiat's bid won for several reasons, including Fiat's prominence in Spain and the fact that the company established the short-lived 'Fiat Hispania' plant in Guadalajara, which was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. Fiat's collaboration with the French company Simca proved Fiat's ability to manage complex international projects. Fiat's experience in the semiprotected car market in Italy was seen as the most easily transferable to the one in Spain, both of which had, at the time, customers of low incomes and limited markets for cars, as well as similar road conditions. In Italy, Fiat dominated the market for vehicles under 12 horsepower, which would initially be the main market segment in Spain. The relative economic isolation of World War II damaged Italy and made Fiat interested in opportunities outside Italy, meaning that the negotiations with the Italian manufacturer could prosper more easily in favour of Spanish interests than those from other countries. In 1947, the Banco Urquijo group revived the S.I.A.T. project. In the next year, the talks ended successfully with the signing of a three-part contract, with the understanding that the INI would hold a 51% controlling interest, as well as a ruling act in the new company preserving a focused approach of the enterprise in the 'national interest'. The Banco Urquijo group, although a minority shareholder, looked forward to assuming a leading role in the future as soon as the company was privatised. Partner carmaker Fiat was offered a 7% share in exchange for its technical assistance. This way, SEAT would not only be able to reinitiate the country's economic recovery as the largest employer in the 1960s and '70s but would also contribute to the industrialisation of a largely rural economy.

SEAT's Barcelona Zona Franca site and laboratories

Though initial thoughts were of locating in less-developed inland cities such as Valladolid and Burgos, the company decided the plant would be constructed in the duty-free zone area of the Port of Barcelona (Barcelona Zona Franca), which would offer better access to the Mediterranean shipping and the rest of Europe through rail and road connections across the nearby French border. Barcelona was, after all, a city with an industrial history that had built up expertise in complex industrial enterprises since the latter part of the 19th century; it was also the host location of many early historical Spanish carmakers, such as Hispano-Suiza and Elizalde, and subsidiaries of foreign carmakers, such as Ford Motor Ibérica and General Motors Peninsular. Being an enterprise of vital interest for the national economy and an investment opportunity for Fiat's expansion plans through the Iberian peninsula, SEAT benefitted from state tariff and tax exemptions and technical assistance from its foreign partner Fiat. The company's first president was the industrial and aeronautical engineer, pilot, and photographer José Ortiz-Echagüe Puertas, who came from the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA, where he had held the position of CEO, and who in 1976 was named the Honorary lifetime president of SEAT.^[63][64][65]

Partnership with Fiat

SEAT 1400, the first model produced by SEAT in 1953

The construction works for SEAT's Zona Franca plant began in 1950, and the opening day came three years later on June 5, 1953, while in the meantime since 1951, the Spanish marque was starting preparations for setting up almost from scratch an entire supplier industry background. The first car in the marque's history to be produced was a SEAT 1400 model that came off the production line on November 13, 1953, with license plate B-87.223. In the following few months, the plant's production output and workforce significantly increased together with the implementation of locally made components in the production process to limit imports from one part and from another part to push the development of the almost nonexistent Spanish supplier industry and meet SEAT's assigned key role as the national carmaker in restoring the Spanish economy of post–World War II Spain. By 1954, the use of Spanish-made parts had risen to 93% of the total, and the factory was officially opened the next year on May 5, 1955. Nevertheless, the impact on Spanish society could not be seen immediately since the first model launched by SEAT was considered a luxury car, so it was highly priced and still not affordable to the average Spanish consumer. Consequently, SEAT needed a second, more economical model to compete against simpler, inexpensive designs that appeared in the local market, like the Biscúter, which seemed to suit better the unwealthy customers looking for a personal means of transport in a suffering economy.^[66]

Until the time SEAT had the technical maturity and expertise to present its first self-developed model, the SEAT 1200 Sport in 1975, in its beginnings, the company had to manufacture either rebadged or restyled models borrowed from the range of its Italian partner Fiat Automobiles or even redeveloped them according to the needs of its range. However, the first example of a SEAT-exclusive derivative would arrive in September 1963 with the launch of the SEAT 800, a car developed in-house by SEAT with no equivalent model in Fiat's range based on the SEAT 600 as a stretched version with four doors.

A monument in Spain for the SEAT 600, a symbol of the Spanish miracle^[67][68]

In 1957 SEAT founded the SEAT Training Centre in the greater Zona Franca plant area, an institution covering the training of qualified personnel and serving the needs of the automobile industry in specialized technical human resources.^[69] In that same year, the historical SEAT 600 was launched, which proved to be the crucial car that literally motorized Spain, being the first car for many Spanish families and becoming a symbol of the Spanish miracle.

As the annual production growth was hitting one record after another due to the heavy demand, the economies of scale permitted cutting costs and prices, subsequently renewing demand and boosting sales together with profits for SEAT. On June 29, 1964, the brand opened its new headquarters in Madrid, which hosted the firm's sole – up to 1972 – general administration offices. SEAT's plant manager was only in Barcelona until 1973 when SEAT settled another general director in Catalonia.

The SEAT 850 Sport, launched in 1967, was the first coupé model from SEAT.

In 1967, 14 years after producing cars for the domestic market, SEAT's success was signalled by its dominant position in Spain, ahead of its major competitors, i.e. 'FASA-Renault', 'Citroën-Hispania', Authi, and Barreiros, making SEAT Spain's largest automaker in sales numbers and a wholly localized production. In that year, an agreement between Fiat and the Spanish Ministry of Industry was reached to end the restrictions over exporting SEAT cars from Spain, a term of the original licensee contract agreed with Fiat in 1948. In exchange for that, Fiat would increase its holding in the company from 7% to 36%. At the same time, the share held by the government holding agency would be reduced from a controlling 51% to 32%. The six major Spanish banks took the remaining 32%, which decreased from their previous 42% share split equally into 7% parts owned by every single one. Although not a majority owner, Fiat now was seen to control the business: the deal also included various undertakings by Fiat to help in the growth of SEAT, and with the development of a new model (possibly the SEAT 133).^[70] On December 6, 1967, SEAT also founded its own customer financing company 'Financiera SEAT, S.A.' (Fiseat).

To produce its own research projects independently, on November 16, 1970, SEAT came in accordance with Fiat to start building separate infrastructures aimed at developing new technologies. In 1972, the brand arranged some provisional facilities for the site of the future technical centre in Martorell, and in 1973, it began construction work; this goal would come only until 1975 to be reached with the completion of the first phase in the construction of a facility designed by the Catalan architect Josep Antoni Coderch.^[71]

During the same period, the manufacturer continued to dominate the Spanish auto market, producing 282,698 cars – more than 58% of the Spanish production total – in 1971, despite the disruption that year caused by strikes and a serious flood at the coastally sited Barcelona plant.^[72] However, with just 81 cars per 1000 people, Spanish car sales were seen as ripe for further growth, and SEAT faced the prospect of increased competition with other major manufacturers contemplating the establishment or expansion of local production facilities in the still heavily protected Spanish car market.^[72]

In 1973, SEAT and Citroën-Hispania jointly contributed equal shares in founding the Vigo-located factory of Industrias Mecánicas de Galicia, SA (Indugasa) producing constant-velocity joints, essential components used in front-wheel drive cars, i.e. in a transmission layout the use of which was becoming more and more common at the time. This plant, which in the next years would supply parts not only to SEAT and Citroën-Hispania but also to Ford España, was meant to be transferred later in 1986 to the multinational company GKN.^[73]

In May 1975, after a request from the Spanish state authorities to ensure the rescue of the jobs for the workers in the Authi-owned factories, SEAT moved on talks with the parent company British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) of the bankrupt Authi to take over the brand's operations in Spain, leaving aside GM's interest in it, which would otherwise open the path for the American automaker to enter the Spanish market, thus jeopardizing the relationship with Fiat. The talks ended in July 1975, when an agreement was announced between the two parties under which SEAT would acquire from BLMC the Authi brand along with its assets for 1,250 million pesetas. The imposed acquisition of the Landaben plant would also give up SEAT's plans to build a new facility in Saragossa. Although the Authi supplier factory in Manresa was transferred to a company called Cometsa for 150 million pesetas, the Landaben plant in Pamplona remained under SEAT's ownership to continue production in February 1976 only of SEAT cars this time.^[74][75]

The 1970s were a decade of rising prosperity in Spain, which is reflected in the announcement in August 1976 that SEAT would commence local production of the Lancia Beta.^[76] Three years later, Beta production by SEAT indeed commenced at the company's recently acquired Pamplona plant, though only the coupe and HPE lift-back versions were included. The Spanish cars were fitted with a simplified suspension system and smaller engines than their Italian counterparts to qualify for a lower car tax rate.

In 1977, SEAT's leasing company Liseat was founded. In 1979, the Gearbox del Prat facility was set up as a specialised plant for producing gearboxes, gear mechanisms, and differentials in El Prat del Llobregat near Barcelona.

Dispute with Fiat

In the early 1980s, extensive discussions concerning funding and control took place between SEAT's major shareholder, the Spanish government, and Fiat Automobiles; SEAT needed major capital investment, which Fiat was not prepared to contribute, partially due to the oil crisis of the 1970s and also due to the uncertainty for Fiat's interests following the end of a protectionist policy against GM in Spain. The outcome, in 1982, was an end to the relationship with Fiat after nearly 30 years, a rather surprising decision despite the favourable perspectives for the Spanish economy, with Spain being in the anteroom of the European Economic Community since 1977.

SEAT Ronda

The end of the cooperation with the Italian firm was marked by a change in SEAT's logo in 1982, and the first car under the new SEAT logo without Fiat's involvement appeared in the same year, the SEAT Ronda, styled by Rayton Fissore in collaboration with the technical centre in Martorell. The launch of this model sparked a lawsuit from Fiat against SEAT, as the former claimed the car was too similar to a car in Fiat's range, the Ritmo. In defence of SEAT, the then-president of SEAT, Juan Miguel Antoñanzas, showed a Ronda to the press with all the parts different from the Fiat Ritmo painted in bright yellow to highlight the differences. The case was eventually taken to the Arbitration Chamber of Paris, which in 1983 declared that differences between both cars were important enough not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo, ending the dispute in favour of SEAT. Rumour at the time had it that Fiat was angry because the Ronda restyling was, in fact, too close to their own planned restyling for the Fiat Ritmo, which they had to scrap.

Volkswagen Group subsidiary

The SEAT Ibiza Mk1, launched in 1984, was the first model developed by SEAT as an independent company, together with Porsche and Karmann.

In 1982, Dr. Carl Horst Hahn, who had just assumed responsibility as the chairman of the Volkswagenwerk AG (Volkswagen Group), examined the opportunity of approaching SEAT after Fiat's withdrawal in his plan to expand the Volkswagen Group's operations out of Germany and turning the German group into a global force. It also followed the precedent set by other global manufacturers (such as Ford in Valencia and General Motors in Zaragoza) in setting up manufacturing operations in Spain. However, the Spanish authorities had already started talks with other foreign firms, such as Toyota,^[77] Nissan and Mitsubishi^[78] to choose a strong partner for SEAT. Hahn's interest soon resulted in industrial and commercial cooperation, as well as a license agreement with SEAT on September 30, 1982, for the production in Spain of the Volkswagen Passat-Santana and Polo-Derby models in SEAT's Zona Franca and Landaben factories, respectively^[79] – having thus as an effect on April 29, 1983, the ending of the SEAT Panda's production at the Landaben assembly lines due to the need of adapting this plant to the production of the VW Polo – and eventually a partnership agreement was signed on June 16, 1983, between the two parties being represented by the president of SEAT Juan Miguel Antoñanzas and Carl Hahn on behalf of the Volkswagenwerk AG.^[80] SEAT also gained the rights to distribute Volkswagens in Spain.^[43]

Former logo from 2012 to 2017

Former logo from 1998 to 2012

SEAT launched its new Ibiza, a Giugiaro-styled hatchback, which made use of System Porsche engines and also featured underpinnings from the Fiat Ritmo/Strada, in 1984. It also formed the basis of the Málaga, a four-door family saloon. SEAT began expanding into markets beyond Spain's borders, including the United Kingdom, where it began selling cars in the autumn of 1985.

On June 18, 1986, after purchasing the 51% majority stake of SEAT and its share increased to 75% on December 23 of the same year, the Volkswagen Group became the major shareholder of SEAT. On December 18, 1990, the Volkswagen Group bought the remaining 25% of the company, thus making SEAT the first non-German wholly-owned subsidiary of the group. Fulfilling Hahn's expectations, SEAT not only made a profit two years after Volkswagen bought a majority of its stock but also provided a low-cost manufacturing outlet for other VW models, contributing up to 15.2% of the VW group's total output in 1989, as well as an opportunity to enter the relatively unexploited (at that time) Spanish market under the SEAT, VW, and Audi names.

The gathering of the brand's main infrastructures in the greater Martorell plant area has taken place in a long process beginning back in 1975 with the opening of the SEAT technical centre,^[81] but only in 1989 was a decision made to start building a new main assembly facility next to the technical centre in Martorell, replacing the old one in Zona Franca. In that same year, the translocation of SEAT's Madrid administration offices to Barcelona began with the sale of two of the brand's assets in La Castellana to be completed in 1991 with the definitive installation of SEAT's headquarters in the Catalonia region.

The SEAT Toledo Mk1, launched in 1991, was the first model fully developed under Volkswagen Group's ownership.

The centralisation of the management, design, research and production facilities localized around the plant site was meant to serve the aim of optimising the development of new models. On February 22, 1993, King Juan Carlos of Spain and the newly elected chairman of the Volkswagen Group Dr. Ferdinand Piëch inaugurated the Martorell plant, one of the most modern and efficient car plants in Europe, using the just-in-time process with its suppliers' site located only 2.5 km away. The first cars that rolled out of the Martorell plant lines were the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 and its saloon version, the SEAT Córdoba Mk1. The new Ibiza was a huge success for SEAT, greatly expanding its market share, particularly in export markets.

The original planning in October 1993 to close the emblematic Zona Franca assembly plant as soon as the production of vehicles could be transferred to the more efficient Martorell plant was overturned after an arrangement between the Spanish authorities and the Volkswagen Group, according to which the Zona Franca site would continue its operations, but would be gradually turned into a site with an auxiliary role in the production process (foundry, press shop, etc.). Meanwhile, on December 23, 1993, the 'Fábrica Navarra de Automóviles, S.A. was founded as a new company to hold the management of the Landaben factory, separating any ties to SEAT in production matters, with its shares being transferred to Volkswagen in June 1994 over which, however, SEAT would regain ownership four years later in 1998.

In 1994, the design centre in Sitges^[82] – the Spanish coastal town south of Barcelona – and the suppliers' park in Zona Franca were also inaugurated, and in the winter of the same year, SEAT's financing and leasing companies – Fiseat and Liseat – were sold to Volkswagen Financial Services AG. In 1994, SEAT, in collaboration with Suzuki, manufactured a five-door prototype model of a city car, internally named Rosé, aiming to replace with it the Marbella in its range, but this model never made it through to production.^[83][84]

SEAT León Mk1 Cupra R

The first time a SEAT model was manufactured out of Spain was in 1996, with the production of the SEAT Alhambra Mk1 in the Palmela AutoEuropa plant in Portugal. Also, in January 1997, a non-Spanish descendant, the Belgian Pierre-Alain de Smedt, was appointed SEAT's chairman for the first time. The SEAT Arosa, a three-door city hatchback, was launched in 1997, effectively replacing the Marbella, SEAT's version of the Fiat Panda, which had been in production since the early 1980s.

On April 7, 1998, the Zona Franca plant marked the end of the production lifecycle of the Marbella model, signalling a historical moment for SEAT with the end of vehicle production in SEAT's oldest factory, which opened in 1953; ever since the Zona Franca plant has produced components and parts to be assembled in other locations. It also signalled the demise of SEAT's last Fiat-based model.

In March 1999, at the Geneva Motor Show, SEAT presented a modern, stylised logo, more rounded than the last one and using the silver colour on a red background, instead of the previous blue, symbolising respectively the rational and the emotional. This came shortly after the launch of the second-generation Toledo which used it as a badge and shortly before the launch of the Toledo-based Leon hatchback.

The "auto emoción" slogan was presented in September 2000, reflecting the brand's new youthful and sporty corporate identity, while SEAT Sport, apart from its motorsport activities, would undertake the responsibility of developing SEAT's high-performance vehicles.

On July 1, 2000, Dr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder, the former CEO of BMW, was appointed to head SEAT. In the spring of 2002, as Pischetsrieder was commissioned to chair the entire Volkswagen Group, he gave way to his German compatriot Andreas Schleef on March 7, 2002.

SEAT Exeo was the flagship model.

From 2002 to 2007, SEAT formed part of the Audi Brand Group, the Volkswagen Group's automotive subdivision, consisting of Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini, which was focused on more sporty values, with the marque's product vehicles and performance being under the responsibility of the Audi brand.^[85][86]

In 2006, the new SEAT corporate head office was opened in Martorell and the Martorell SEAT Design Centre superseded the Volkswagen Group Design Centre Europe at Sitges,^[87] which previously hosted the design facility jointly owned by SEAT, Volkswagen, and Audi,^[88] as on February 23 of the same year, an agreement over the transfer of the installations of the latter to the City of Sitges was closed, with the Martorell's Design Centre official opening eventually taking place on December 30, 2007.

On January 12, 2007, the inauguration of the building of the SEAT Service Centre next to the southern entrance of the Martorell factory was held, the department focused on technical support, after-sales and marketing purposes, and covering the feedback and the relationship of the brand with the customers and its worldwide network. In January 2007, the operation of the SEAT Prototypes Centre of Development located in the heart of the Martorell industrial complex began, a facility inaugurated on July 16 of the same year, bringing together activities related to the virtual and physical preproduction processes of new models (prototyping, modelling, pilot product development, and series analysis), thus shortening development times for prototypes and preproduction vehicles, as well as saving costs with the use of modern technologies such as virtual simulation.^[89]

In September 2023, it was announced that the SEAT brand would be eliminated on passenger cars by 2030 once the current models reach the end of their respective lifespans as a result of poor sales, with resources shifted to the stronger selling Cupra brand. However, Volkswagen did not completely rule out using the SEAT brand for another automotive role.^[90]

Rallying

SEAT's first serious attempt at a World Rally Championship (WRC) was in the 1977 season when SEAT took part with its SEAT 1430/124D Especial 1800 race car, and in its debut rallying event at the Montecarlo Rally, the SEAT team finished in the third and fourth places with the official 1430-1800 cars being driven by Antonio Zanini and Salvador Cañellas. In recent years, the consignment was placed on the small SEAT Ibiza, a 1.6-L, normally aspirated, front-wheel drive car with its roots in the Volkswagen Polo. The Ibiza allowed the company to evolve its rallying experience further and was officially engaged in some European national championships. The years went by until a 2-L version of the Ibiza was homologated as a kit car, and extra wide tracks, larger wheels, brakes, etc., were fitted to it as the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) kit-car regulations allow. With these attributes, the car won the 2-Litre World Rally Cup three times (1996, 1997, 1998), proving its maker had accumulated enough experience, and budget, to move to the top category, the World Rally Car class of rallying cars.

Daniel Solà with the SEAT Córdoba WRC at the Rallye de Tierra de Cangas del Narcea

SEAT's three conquests of the FIA 2L WRC title, and the sport's popularity in Spain, probably convinced Volkswagen Group management to go further and allow the SEAT Sport department a chance to reach its goal in the top-class WRC category. This situation ended in September 2000, when the company's German upper management revoked its decision forcing SEAT Sport to retire from the World Rally Championship.

SEAT's project to build a WRC-spec car was officially announced during the 1997 San Remo rally. It was in 1998 that the first evolution of the SEAT Córdoba WRC car was presented at the Porto Motor Show and then first enrolled by the company to compete at the highest level of WRC racing. The Córdoba was based on the family saloon of the same name but was, naturally, a WRC class car equipped with an inline-four turbocharged petrol engine, permanent four-wheel drive, and active differentials involved in its transmission. The Córdoba WRC made its debut at the 1998 Rally of Finland, while a further race car development was incarnated on the SEAT Córdoba WRC E2 which was presented at the Barcelona Motor Show in 1999. However, the short wheelbase and high-mounted engine (compared to its rivals) worked against the Córdoba and results were not competitive. Despite hiring ex-WRC champion Didier Auriol, and a new evolution of the car, the SEAT Córdoba WRC E3, SEAT pulled out of international rallying at the end of 2000.

Touring cars

Yvan Muller with the SEAT León TDI in Japan

In 2002, SEAT announced a one-make championship for the new SEAT León Cupra R, the SEAT León Supercopa.

In 2004, SEAT with Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML) entered the British Touring Car Championship, running two SEAT Toledo Cupra for former-BTCC Champion Jason Plato, and 2003 León UK Champion, Rob Huff. In 2005, Huff left to join Chevrolet (run by RML in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC)), and he was replaced by 2004 Leon Champion James Pickford, and Luke Hines as SEAT expanded to three cars, now run by Northern South. 2006 saw the Toledo replaced by the new León, and Darren Turner joined the team with James Thompson when his WTCC commitments allowed. 2007 was SEAT's best year in BTCC, as Plato was locked in a season-long battle with Fabrizio Giovanardi, which came down to the final race of the season, but just missed out on the title.

Since 2005, SEAT has also competed in the World Touring Car Championship, with its first best season being 2007 when a failed water pump robbed Yvan Muller of a certain victory at the final meeting in Macau. SEAT became the first team to run a TDI in the WTCC, and this gave them a dominant 2008 World Touring Car Championship season, with Yvan Muller winning the driver's championship. French racing team Oreca cooperates with the WTCC team. SEAT's UK team followed suit in the 2008 BTCC. The BTCC team was sponsored by Holiday Inn.

In 2007, SEAT – with the León Mk2 TDI at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany – became the first manufacturer to win a round of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) series in a diesel car, only a month after announcing it will enter the FIA World Touring Car Championship with the León TDI. SEAT's success with the León TDI continued and resulted in winning consecutively the 2008 World Touring Car Championship and 2009 World Touring Car Championship both titles (for drivers as well as for manufacturers').

In September 2008, SEAT UK announced that it would withdraw from all motor sport activity in the UK at the end of the season. The SEAT Cupra Championship and the SEAT BTCC campaign ended at Brands Hatch on 21 September. BTCC drivers Jason Plato and Darren Turner have been left without drives for 2009. But Plato will drive for Silverline Chevrolet.

At the opening of the 2009 WTCC, SEAT placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in both races in Brazil.^[94] At the second meeting of the WTCC (in Mexico), the SEAT team placed 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th and 11th in the first race. In the second race, they placed 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th.^[95] While SEAT may have withdrawn from the BTCC, they are showing impressive results in the WTCC.

The SEAT Cupra GT in the Spanish GT championship for the SunRED racing team

Grand tourer cars

In 2003, the SEAT Sport division presented at the Barcelona Motor Show first as a concept car and later the final version of the SEAT Cupra GT race car, which was produced in limited series on customer demand addressed to expertised individuals and racing teams willing to take part in race events.

The Cupra GT was chosen as a GT race car from racing teams, like the Sunred Engineering (SunRED) team, making its debut in 2004 in the Spanish GT Championship,^[96] and took part in several Grand tourer circuits not only in Spain but also run in tracks abroad like those of Monza and Magny-Cours.^[97]

Formula

SEAT Formula 1430

In 2002, SEAT announced a one-make championship for the new SEAT León Cupra R, the SEAT León Supercopa. In 1970 SEAT set up the 'Fórmula Nacional' series in Spain,^[98][99] a year later to be known as Formula 1430. The single-seater formula cars, which took part driven by young Spanish drivers, were equipped under support from SEAT with engines of the 1430 model and 6700 gearboxes. The first race of the 'Fórmula Nacional' series took place at the Jarama circuit in Madrid.^[100][101]

SEAT models

Ibiza	León	Arona	Ateca	Tarraco
Supermini	Small family car	B-segment Crossover	C-segment Crossover	D-segment Crossover
Hatchback	Hatchback Sportstourer (estate/wagon)	Crossover	Crossover	Crossover

Cupra models

León	Ateca	Formentor	Born	Tavascan
Small family car	C-segment Crossover	CUV Coupé	Small family car	C-segment Crossover
Hatchback Sportstourer (estate/wagon)	Crossover	CUV	Hatchback Electric Car	Crossover Electric Car

Logo history

Logos

From	To	Logo
1953	1968
1968	1970
1970	1982
1982	1990
1990	1999
1998	2012
2012	2017
2017	present
2018	present
2020	present

Leadership

Today as a Volkswagen Group subsidiary, SEAT's leading people are appointed after approval from the group's supervisory board.

Economic figures

Volkswagen group's distribution centre in Germany

Slogans

SEAT currently does not use a slogan. Here are most of the slogans used by SEAT before:

• SEAT, Grupo Volkswagen (19??–????; not quite a slogan but rather signifying Volkswagen Group ownership)
• SEAT, auto emoción (2000–2011)
• SEAT, Enjoyneering (2011–2014)
• SEAT, Technology to Enjoy (2014–2017)

Environmental policy

Electric and hybrid technology development

Since the early 1990s, SEAT has developed and presented several prototypes with either full electric or hybrid powertrain, including the SEAT Toledo Mk1 electric model (1992), the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 electric car (1993), the SEAT Inca electric van (1995), the SEAT León Mk2 Twin drive (2009), the SEAT IBE concept (2010) and the SEAT IBX concept SUV (2011) hybrid cars.^[183]

'SEAT al Sol' project

The 'SEAT al Sol' project consists in the integration of use of solar power through a system of photovoltaic panels generating electricity in SEAT's factory in Martorell. The project will be carried through in collaboration with GA-Solar from the beginning of 2010, covering a factory area of 320,000 m² with a system of more than 10 MW of photovoltaic panels. This installation is expected to produce more than 13 million kWh of electricity annually, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 6,200 tonnes of CO₂ per year.^[184][185]

'Cenit verde' project

The Cenit VERDE initiative is a research project backed by the CENIT (the National Strategic Consortia for Technical Research) programme and supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, in which SEAT plays a key role. Aiming at developing technologies, components and infrastructure for hybrid and electrically powered cars in Spain, this programme brings together 16 technology companies (including Siemens, Endesa, Iberdrola, REE, Cegasa, Ficosa, Circuitor, Cobra or Lear) and 16 universities and research establishments under the CTM coordination (Centre Tecnològic in Manresa)^[186] and the support of the CDTI (Centre for Industrial Technological Development, an organization pertaining to the Ministry of Science and Innovation).

In January 2010, the Cenit Verde association made its opening meeting at SEAT's Technical Centre in Martorell.^[187]

As part of its contribution SEAT comes in with its own 'Verde' pre-project, including the technology implemented in the plug-in hybrid SEAT León Twin drive^[188] as well as in the SEAT IBE concept zero-emissions electric vehicle presented in the 2010 Geneva motor show.^[189]

SEAT Autometro project

A TMD (Teco Media Distancia) cargo train on its way from SEAT's Martorell plant^[190]

The 'SEAT Autometro' project comprises the construction and management of a rail link service between SEAT's Martorell complex and the Port of Barcelona, in the aim of transport of vehicles and components. Autometro is the joint-venture company which operates the rail, having Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) local rail company, COMSA Rail Transport and Pecovasa as its shareholders. The company was founded in November 2005, almost five months after an initial agreement was signed between the Catalan government (Generalitat), the Barcelona Port Authority and SEAT.^[191] Due to this project, a branch connecting the Martorell plant with the FGC 'Llobregat-Anoia' main rail line had to be constructed, as well as further adaptations to the transport network and the host infrastructures in the Port of Barcelona, had to be made. The budget for the project comes up to 6.8 million euros, while SEAT, on its part, also assumes the operational transport costs.^[192]
The use of this rail link since January 18, 2008, instead of road transport, has helped not only in terms of cost-effectiveness and road safety but also in the reduction of both road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
Over the whole 'Autometro' project awards have been given for the best logistics idea at the 2007 International Logistics Fair (SIL) and specifically to SEAT as the 2008 Distinguished loader by the Loaders' Association of the Port of Barcelona.^[193]

Sponsorship

SEAT has been a sponsor in major sports, music and cultural events, such as:

• FIFA World Cup (1982)
• SEAT Orbea cycling team (1986)
• 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Paralympics^[194][195]
• Paris Saint-Germain (1994-1995 season)
• "Guapa Tour SEAT·^[196] from Spanish band La Oreja de Van Gogh (2006)
• European leg of the "Oral Fixation Tour" by Shakira (2007)
• UEFA Europa League^[197] (2009–2012)
• Copa del Rey (from 2010)
• Rock in Rio Madrid (2010)^[198]
• Black Eyed Peas in Barcelona (2010)
• Red Bull Air Race World Championship^[199]
• Valencia Open (2010)
• Davis Cup World Group Final^[200]
• European leg of the "Sale El Sol" tour by Shakira (2010-2011)
• Shamrock Rovers FCB, Irish football club (2012)^[201]
• Sponsoring of the following football teams (2012 – present): Sevilla FC, Real Betis, Athletic Club, Valencia CF, Real Zaragoza, Villarreal and Eintracht Braunschweig.
• Primavera Sound (2017)^[202]
• Lolapalooza Paris & Berlin (2018)^[203]
• IV International Compliance Congress (2019)^[204]
• Sónar (2019) ^[205]
• SM Copa de la Reina Football Cup (2019)
• Sponsor and official car of the Women's Spanish Football Team
• Official Sponsor of the 23rd edition of the International fashion platform 080 Barcelona (2019)

The company was one of the prime sponsors of Tunisia's national basketball team at the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship where the company's logo was regularly displayed (e.g. on the team's shorts).^[206]

Further, SEAT is a strong supporter of artists, like Shakira,^[207] Armin van Buuren,^[208] David Guetta^[209][210] and fictional characters such as Lara Croft.