SEAT’s global sales in the year so far till the end of September have set a new record. Since January, the carmaker delivered 415,600 cars worldwide, which is 17.1% more than in the same period last year (354,900 cars). This figure is the best result ever in the history of SEAT, and is higher than the January to September posting in 2000 (394,400 cars sold). However, brand sales went down last month by 20.6% (31,600 vehicles) after going up by close to 40% in July and August due to the implementation of the WLTP regulation, which became effective on 1 September.
SEAT vice-president for Marketing and Sales Wayne Griffiths explained that “sales up to September gave SEAT a new record and established us once again as the fastest growing brand in Europe. Just as we had expected, the September result was influenced by the effect of the WLTP, which strongly boosted car deliveries in July and August. The final quarter will be a challenge, as the WLTP is going to have an impact on the number of vehicles registered in Europe. Nevertheless, with three months still left before concluding 2018, we are on track to achieving the highest sales volume in the history of SEAT.”
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Deliveries of the Spanish carmaker went up from January to September as a result of the momentum in the major European markets, which all posted double-digit growth. Germany is SEAT’s leading market with 90,400 cars delivered (+22.8%) and achieved its best historic result. Spain follows closely behind with the second highest number of vehicles sold (85,900 vehicles; +16.5%) and tops the list of brands and registered vehicles, with the Leon and the Ibiza in first and second place. Furthermore, with an increase of 14.1% (50,500 units), the UK rounds off the company’s top three markets and also broke its sales record.
The January to September result was also excellent in France, where SEAT grew by 27.7% and delivered 23,400 cars. Other prominent countries include Austria (16,000; +16.8%) and Switzerland (8,400; +11.7%), both with first nine-month sales records. In addition, SEAT also grew significantly in Poland (10,300; +24.2%), Belgium (8,000; +37.2%) and Portugal (7,900; +23.7%), which clearly contributed to the brand’s positive results, as well as in Algeria, where SEAT sales have gone up five-fold and 15,800 cars have been delivered (3,100 from January to September 2017).
SEAT gets ready to continue growing
In recent weeks, SEAT unveiled two new models that it says are going to help the brand boost growth in 2019: the Tarraco, which completes the SUV offensive together with the Arona and the Ateca, and the Arona TGI, the first all-roader on the market fuelled with compressed natural gas. Both models are scheduled to go on sale before the end of the year and will be joined by the Cupra Ateca. This new sports SUV is the first launch of the Cupra brand and prominently features an amazing balance between driving pleasure and convenience for day-to-day use. The Cupra Ateca is also going on sale in the next few weeks.
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