Bye Bye SEAT. Hello CUPRA. VW to "Find New Role for SEAT"

Volkswagen company chairman Thomas Schafer has confirmed at the Munich Motor Show that the future of SEAT is CUPRA. What will happen to SEAT now?

It shouldn't come as surprising news but VW has confirmed at the Munich Motor Show (4th Sept 2023) that the SEAT brand is to be fully replaced with CUPRA. The reason it shouldn't be surprising is that CUPRA has been porting over some of SEAT's cars such as the Ateca and Leon for a while now.

SEAT is part of VAG (Volkswagen Group) which also have own majority control of Audi, Bentley, CUPRA, Lamborghini, Porsche and Skoda.

VW says the popular Ibiza supermini will be phased out at the end of its lifecycle. SUVs like the compact Arona and larger Tarraco will more than likely move over to CUPRA or be phased out completely.

CUPRA already has two SUVs in the form of the Ateca and Formentor, so the Arona and Tarraco are in a bit of a weird place. The CUPRA Tavascan SUV, CUPRA DarkRebel sports car and CUPRA UrbanRebel hatchback are already in the works and to be released in the coming years.

According to VW company chairman Thomas Schafer, VW plans to "ramp up" investment in the CUPRA performance brand and that "CUPRA is the future of SEAT". He went on to say it was "prohibitive to continue investing in both SEAT and CUPRA".

Originally, SEAT was the VAG 'budget' segment for the market. But Skoda has taken over the role now and with CUPRA currently taking some of SEAT's models, the SEAT brand itself has become redundant.

What will happen to SEAT then?

VW hasn't exactly said what is going to happen to the brand, as well as the roughly 230+ SEAT dealerships in the UK. Website Autocar reports that VW bosses want to retain the SEAT name but move it over to providing mobility solutions such as e-scooters (like the SEAT MO) and e-bikes. Although this isn't confirmed.

It's possible the majority of the current SEAT dealerships will just be transformed into CUPRA showrooms. This is the case already for Swansway and Stable, as our SEAT showrooms became CUPRA showrooms a while ago.

Sadly, this is the end of an era for SEAT. Since their beginnings in 1953, they've sold over 16 million vehicles with the SEAT Ibiza having sold over 4 million by itself. 

Can I still buy a SEAT?

Yes, you can still buy a SEAT vehicle at the time of writing this article. Schafer has said, "Existing Seat models will continue to be produced in their current lifecycles". This means you will be able to buy a SEAT Ibiza, Leon or an Arona for the next few years at least before the end of their lifecycles.