VW Group-owned SEAT says that more than 146,000 people participated in a vote to select the name Tarraco – the preferred choice with over 35% of the votes received – for a new seven-seat SUV.
The new SUV will be launched at the end of this year.
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Tarraco received 51,903 (35.52%) of the valid votes, followed by Avila, which was supported by 41,993 (28.74%) of the participants, Aranda, in third place with 39,321 (26.91%) of the votes, and Alboran, with 12,907 (8.83%). The results of the votes were certified by EY.
SEAT says that Tarraco, like the other three finalist proposals, is ‘aligned with SEAT’s values and perfectly matches the personality of the new model’. Tarraco’s modern day name is Tarragona, and as the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula, it was one of the major metropolises of Hispania during the Roman Empire.
Tarraco is the first SEAT model name to be chosen by popular vote.
#SEATseekingName
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By GlobalDataSEAT said the initiative #SEATseekingName exceeded all expectations. In the first stage a total of 133,332 proposals were received from SEAT fans in 106 countries, who put forward 10,130 different Spanish place names following the guidelines defined by the brand.
In the next stage of the ‘rigorous selection process’, the proposals were verified using linguistic and legal criteria, and experts ensured that the names matched the brand values and conveyed the ‘essence’ of the new model.
After that, several focus groups in the brand’s major markets were organised and further market tests were carried out in the different countries where SEAT sells its vehicles to come up with the list of four finalists.
Alboran, Aranda, Avila and Tarraco were the chosen place names.
The new SEAT Tarraco will be SEAT’s flagship large SUV and completes its SUV range, which already comprises the Ateca and the Arona. Tarraco seats up to 7 passengers.
According to just-auto’s QUBE/PLDB database Volkswagen will build all variants of this model in Wolfsburg on the same line as the Tiguan and Tiguan Allspace.
Speaking at the media preview of the Ateca in June 2017, SEAT president Luca de Meo told journalists that he does not see the brand moving into the size territory above the future D segment SUV.
just-auto’s new and future products editor Glenn Brooks notes that there is the possibility that SEAT will add an SUV-coupé, potentially to be based on this model, in 2020. “It could make good business sense to do that,” he says. “An SUV-coupé could be very much aligned with the brand’s emerging attributes and capture new customers. But much depends on how the SEAT brand performs over the next year or so and whether such a vehicle can be justified as a true brand builder on the back of successful SUV introductions. As a value-driven brand within the VW Group, SEAT is still somewhat behind Skoda, although Luca de Meo is clearly now making a difference.”
