The CEO of Seat, Markus Haupt, acknowledges that the brand could disappear after 2030, although no decision has been made. The Martorell plant continues electric production until February and has nearly a thousand recent hires.
The CEO of Seat and Cupra, Markus Haupt, has admitted that the continuity of the Seat brand is not guaranteed beyond 2030, although he assured that "no decision has been made yet." He stated this during the Paris Motor Show, which opened this Monday with the press day and will welcome the public from October 13 to 18, according to catalunyapress.es.
The leak from the German weekly WirtschaftsWoche on September 3 pointed to an orderly withdrawal of Seat by the end of 2029, without questioning the future of Cupra. The company then denied any decision, and the works council deemed the possibility unacceptable. Haupt has now denied that information, but has placed the horizon "beyond 2030" as the time when the brand may not continue.
The executive explained that European regulation will condition the margin for manoeuvre: "Regulation is what will set the path." This factor is joined by the evolution of demand and the cost of developing new models.
"We have a clear strategy looking to the future, where we have Cupra as the growth engine of this company which is Seat S.A."
The results for the first nine months, published the same day by the group, show divergent trajectories. The third quarter closed with 133,700 joint deliveries, a 2.3% decrease year-on-year. The Ibiza remains the best-selling model, while Cupra sold 23,900 cars in Spain, a 23% increase. The company has accumulated over 100,000 orders for the Raval and the ID. Polo combined.
Haupt justified that electrification has been concentrated in Cupra because it offers "a higher profit per vehicle" and is the brand with the best margins in the group. Seat's roadmap involves maintaining the planned updates, with mild hybrid versions of the Ibiza and the Arona, both manufactured in Martorell, whose production is scheduled for 2027. In contrast, new electric models for the brand are currently ruled out: the necessary investment would be "a very large effort for the group and for this company."
Cupra does not expect to launch completely new models before 2030, when the group's SSP platform is expected, which according to Haupt will not arrive before the end of the decade. The Cupra Tindaya prototype points to the design language of that stage. Until then, the plan is to maximise the current range and recover the investments made. The weight of the strategy falls on the Raval, with prices starting from around 25,000 euros. "The electrification strategy revolves around the Cupra Raval," Haupt summarised. The company aims for it to exceed 100,000 units next year and become the best-selling Cupra.
The Martorell plant is operating on two and a half shifts, with the production of the new urban electric vehicles committed until February and nearly a thousand recent hires. The factory expects to reach record production in 2024, but the decision on the future of the brand remains pending from Wolfsburg.
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