SEAT announces worldwide increases to better 2012 by 10.6%

• Following stunning result for SEAT UK, SEAT S.A. announces 10.6% global sales increase for 2013
• 355,000 vehicles delivered is SEAT’s highest for five years
• SEAT is one of the fastest growing brands in Europe
• Double digit increases for Leon (44%) and Mii (43%)

SEAT sales jumped up by 10.6% in 2013, as the Spanish brand delivered 355,000 vehicles worldwide – its highest number for five years, and 34,000 more than 2012’s figure.

In its main area of Western Europe, SEAT’s 9.4% increase puts it among the fastest growing brands in Europe, despite operating in a sector that’s contracted overall. SEAT sold 273,200 vehicles in Western Europe in 2013, 23,500 more than in 2012.

SEAT Chairman Jürgen Stackmann underscores that “the company is having sales momentum, particularly in Europe, where SEAT is growing faster than the competition in a contracting market.”

European success

In its biggest market, Germany, SEAT delivered 76,600 vehicles, a 20.3% increase over the previous year. SEAT was the fastest-growing brand in Germany, and has placed itself amongst the top ten selling brands. In Spain, SEAT returned to positive performance figures and increased sales by 6.0% (58,900 cars), above the market average. In the United Kingdom, its third-largest market, the Spanish brand enjoyed its fifth successive year of growth (16.8%), with more than 45,300 sales the highest that SEAT UK has ever achieved in a year.

SEAT also closed 2013 with record sales in other markets like Switzerland (8,300 units; up 5.2%) and Denmark (6,300; up 37.6%), alongside other European markets.

The key to SEAT’s positive performance in Europe is the Leon, of which more than 102,000 units have been sold worldwide, a 44.4% increase. The new five-door Leon is the best-selling SEAT model in many countries (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Turkey, among others). SEAT Sales and Marketing Vice President Dr. Andreas Offermann asserts that “full availability of the Leon family should sustain growth in 2014.”

Growth in North Africa, Middle East and Mexico

SEAT also seized opportunities outside Europe; thanks to 13.0% growth, almost one of every five vehicles SEAT built in 2013 was sold outside of Europe (64,600 units). So, for the first time, SEAT has three non-European countries amongst its top ten: Mexico (5th), Algeria (6th) and Turkey (8th).

In Algeria, where SEAT already quadrupled its sales in 2012, it continued to grow last year, by 26.9%, and concluded 2013 with 20,500 units sold. The big novelty for 2013 was Turkey, where sales almost doubled (90.4%) with the brand marketing 11,100 units. SEAT ended 2013 with the highest sales figures in its history for both these countries. In Mexico SEAT grew for the fourth successive year (0.4%), sales totalling 21,200 units.

“In 2014, in spite of the still-persisting difficulties in the economic environment, we intend to continue working hard to make constant progress. We have a fantastic product range which will continue to grow around the Leon family, the heart of the SEAT brand,”declares Chairman Jürgen Stackmann.

Deliveries to customers in 2013 (by models, in units and percentage annual growth)

SEAT Mii (28,900; +43.2%)
SEAT Ibiza (154,100; -7.7%)
SEAT Toledo (19,000; launched in November 2012)
SEAT Leon (102,800; +44.4%)
SEAT Altea (23,700; -19.7%)
SEAT Alhambra (20,000; +4.0%)
SEAT Exeo (6,500; production discontinued in July 2013)

SEAT breaks sales record with over a month to go.

• SEAT UK last week surpassed its record-breaking 2012 yearly sales total
• 38,871 registrations by last Monday (11 November) beats 2012’s 38,798 total
• 2013 is already the company’s best ever year, with six weeks remaining
• SEAT achieves its fifth consecutive annual sales rise

SEAT UK can announce that it has already broken its annual sales record, with more than six weeks to spare.

By the morning of Monday 11 November, SEAT had reached 38,871 registrations, surpassing the 38,798 tally posted for 2012, itself a record-breaking year. It means that SEAT can already announce its best year ever, and its fifth consecutive annual sales improvement.

During what has been a fantastic 2013, SEAT has broken its monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and now annual sales records; September 2013 was SEAT’s best ever month (8,498 registrations), which topped off its best ever quarter (July – September 2013), which had followed its best ever half year (Jan – June 2013).

And October 2013 too has been a landmark month for SEAT, with 2,903 registrations making it the company’s best October ever. Retail sales alone were up by 34% compared to October 2012’s.

SEAT UK Director Neil Williamson says: “In a competitive marketplace it’s a testament to both the quality of our cars and the effort of our dealerships that we’ve broken our annual sales record already. A brilliant team effort.

“What’s most pleasing is that we’ve achieved much of this success in the showrooms: our year-to-date retail sales have gone up by almost a third. We’ve put a lot of focus on getting happy customers into great cars via an outstanding dealership experience.”

The SEAT Leon, which currently holds the Auto Express Car of the Year crown, is now available as a five-door hatchback, a three-door SC and an ST estate. SEAT showrooms now offer the most complete model line-up that the company has ever produced, from the Mii city car, through the ever-popular Ibiza supermini, the new Leon family, the highly practical new Toledo, the Altea and Altea XL MPVs, and the multi-award winning  Alhambra people carrier.

Happy Birthday SEAT, 60 years and counting

• Today marks 60 years since the first SEAT car, a 1400, was produced
• SEAT 1400 saloon became an instant hit, with 10,000 orders after its debut
• 98,000 1400 models were produced over a decade
• SEAT has gone on to produce 16,000,000 vehicles and counting

Yesterday was a very special day for SEAT: exactly 60 years ago to the day, the company’s first car rolled off the production line at its Zona Franca factory in Barcelona. That car was the SEAT 1400, an elegant and luxurious saloon designed in the spirit of the most popular American sedans of the '50s.

SEAT had been established only three years earlier, and had developed the 1400 with a focus on the transport needs of government officials. Initially available as a saloon, SEAT would also create estate, seven-seat and commercial versions of the 1400; Spanish cabbies loved the 1400, and it remained a popular taxi well into the following decade.

With a price tag of 121,875 pesetas (€41,735 or £35,200 today), SEAT initially produced five cars per day, built by a workforce of 925 employees. The rear-wheel drive 1400 was powered by a front-mounted, water cooled 44 PS engine and came equipped with a four-speed manual gearbox.

It wasn’t until June of 1954 that SEAT gave the model its official debut, at the Barcelona Trade Fair. And with petrol rationing in Spain having come to an end in 1953, the company received a staggering 10,000 orders. That allowed SEAT to both increase production and drop the price, reducing it to 117,000 pesetas.

By the end of 1954, SEAT had delivered 945 1400 models, but by the end of the following year, annual production was closer to 3,000, with almost all of the 1400’s components manufactured in Spain. One year later and production had more than doubled, to 7,000 units, and by the end of the following year SEAT was producing 10,000 1400 models annually, with 42 leaving the factory every working day. By that stage the workforce had increased to 5,000.  

Production of the 1400 ended in 1964, with 98,000 cars having been produced in Zona Franca and Spain going from strength-to-strength economically. SEAT was at the forefront of that growth, and remains a key player in the Spanish economy today, designing, developing and manufacturing its cars in the ultra-modern Martorell facility on the outskirts of Barcelona; since 2010, SEAT has invested €35m in the ‘SEAT al Sol’ project, which has reduced factory CO2 emissions by 7,000 tonnes per year using solar panel technology.

Since the launch of the 1400, SEAT has built more than 16,000,000 vehicles, including icons like the 600, the 127, the Ibiza and the Leon. Today the company exports over 80% of its production, and has over 1,800 points of sale worldwide.

2013: a year of significant anniversaries

The SEAT 1400 was replaced by the 1500, which began production 50 years ago in 1963. Ten years later in 1973, its successor, the SEAT 132, came to market. A truly luxurious car, the 132 was the first SEAT to feature an automatic transmission, and later in its lifecycle it became the first available with air conditioning.

Forward another ten years to 1983 and the SEAT Ronda came to market, and ten years after that, SEAT introduced the second-generation Ibiza - the first car ever produced in SEAT's Martorell factory and a model that, now in its fourth generation, remains SEAT’s most popular car.

SEAT has some great Q4 consumer offers and Motability terms.

• Mii Toca only £79 per month, while Ibiza SC Toca stays under £10,000
• New Leon from as little as £165 per month, with huge specification
• Free Leon Technology Pack offer extended for a further three months
• £2,500 off the price of every new Toledo, meaning the range starts at £10,000
• 46 SEAT models available with zero advance payment for Motability customers

With SEAT UK posting its best monthly sales ever in September, the company is looking to keep the momentum going with a round of fantastic Q4 offers that truly put the customer first.

Starting with the Mii, it remains possible to get into a brand new SEAT city car for less than the price of a fancy gym membership: just £79 per month for a Mii Toca on a PCP, which comes with satellite navigation and rear parking sensors. The small print is below, but there are no surprises.

Next up is the Ibiza SC, which is available in Toca specification for just £9,995. So for less than ten grand, a customer can drive away with a stunning supermini including satellite navigation, Bluetooth, 16-inch alloy wheels and dark tinted windows. That’s a £2,700 saving on the RRP. Across the rest of the range, all Ibiza FR models have £2,000 off, as does the very rapid, range-topping Ibiza Cupra – now just £16,765.

Moving up the SEAT range, all Toledo models have £2,500 off the retail price, meaning the Toledo begins at just £10,000. Meanwhile, the free Technology Pack offer for the Leon continues, meaning all SE and FR cars can have satellite navigation, DAB digital radio and full-LED headlights for nothing, as opposed to the pack’s £1,075 retail price.

SEAT is also offering a £1,000 deposit contribution across the Leon range when purchased on a PCP, and 4.9% APR – which means the monthly payment on a new Leon SC SE 1.2 TSI, including Technology Pack, is just £165.

For the Altea and Altea XL ranges there’s a £2,500 deposit contribution across the range, with a PCP, and every model is available with five years 0% on hire purchase, with a 35% deposit. And it’s exactly the same story with the multi-award winning Alhambra line-up.

Motability drivers will be able to enjoy a SEAT Leon with no advance payment on certain models, while there’s also no advance payment on certain Mii, Ibiza and Toledo variants; in total, SEAT is offering 46 vehicles with £0 advance payment, including the very highly equipped and fuel-efficient Leon 1.6 TDI SE.

SEAT is looking to achieve a record-breaking year in 2013, and started in the best possible way. Having put the all-new Leon on sale in March, the company posted its best ever half-year sales at the end of June, with 22,752 cars registered. Following that, the third quarter of the year was the company’s best ever, with 12,716 cars registered, and September was its best ever single month.

The (not so) small print…

The Mii Toca offer is a 36-month PCP with 4.9% APR, and requires a £2,719 deposit, while the £165 per month Leon offer requires a £4,771 customer deposit, £1,000 of which is paid by SEAT.