Seat to cease car production: Volkswagen pulls plug before 2030

Volkswagen delivers the final blow to Seat: the Spanish brand will vanish before 2030

Is Seat gone? The Volkswagen Group plans to withdraw the brand before 2030, according to reports published in Germany. The decision, which has not been officially confirmed, would mark the end of one of Spain's most emblematic automotive companies. Seat, for its part, has denied that any decision has been made, but the move is part of the consortium's electrification strategy.

The news, picked up by The Objective and reported by German media, suggests that the brand would stop producing cars to focus on CUPRA, the group's sports marque. This shift has been hinted at before: Seat has been losing ground to CUPRA, which has gained prominence in recent years. The Martorell plant, which employs thousands of workers, would not close but would dedicate itself exclusively to producing CUPRA models and other group vehicles.

The rumored reasons cited are Seat's lower profitability, compounded by the difficult transition to electrification and rising energy costs. Meanwhile, Seat's official response has been to deny any decision: "there is no decision regarding its brand," it told EFE. The uncertainty surrounding the brand's future adds to a series of movements in the European automotive sector, which faces profound transformation.

It is not the first time a historic brand has disappeared: industrial reconversion took Pegaso down. But this time, it is not a sale; it is a rebranding: the Seat name would go, but the plant would continue production. The irony is that in the age of electric mobility, the brands that survive seem to be the most profitable, not necessarily the most loved.