Spain should buy SEAT and lead the industry

Nationalizing SEAT: A nostalgic proposal that clashes with reality

SEAT was once Spanish. It was given away. Now, a movement proposes buying it back and placing it at the top of the market with managers who have never set foot on an assembly line. The paradox is striking.

The plan: Nationalize and put politicians in charge

The proposal, launched in economic circles, is simple: nationalize SEAT, appoint figures like Belarra, Rufián, or Yolanda Díaz to lead it, and manufacture the car people need: cheap, robust, reaching 120 km/h instantly, and outshining Cupra. Thousands of jobs, sales success, national glory. The problem is that industrial reality does not work this way.

The past: From Fiat to Volkswagen, with a lawsuit in between

SEAT was born as a manufacturer under license from Fiat. After the split in the 80s, the brand managed to create the original Ibiza, the only model considered authentically Spanish, designed outside Fiat and before Volkswagen's entry. The Ronda, the first model after the separation, derived from the Ritmo, but SEAT won a famous lawsuit against Fiat for changing enough parts. Then Volkswagen arrived and the brand became German. As noted, "it was already Spanish and they gave it away." And it wasn't free: the Generalitat injected €100 million in subsidies into the Martorell plant four years ago, and new aids were revealed last year according to El Economista.

The obstacles: Chinese competitors, costs, and the 'chiringuito' in Chozas de Canales

Chinese competition is the elephant in the room. Brands like Geely or SAIC are willing to buy any struggling European manufacturer, and SEAT is a perfect candidate. Indeed, some predict the brand will end up in Chinese hands, selling electric cars with the S badge. Meanwhile, the nationalization plan hits the reality that there is no proprietary technology, platforms, or economies of scale. And the irony: the project to put Otegui in quality or Óscar Puente in logistics has been compared to a "beach bar overlooking Chozas de Canales," where, it is said, there will only be solar panels, data centers, and warehouses. Industry, after all, cannot be improvised with names.

Nostalgia and reality: The Ibiza that no longer exists

There is some nostalgia in all this. The Ibiza SXI, the 600, the cars still driving through villages. But nostalgia is not an industrial plan. The engine of the original Ibiza, produced between 1984 and 1993, delivered 100 hp with 925 kg, without power steering, and had issues with oil and water consumption. Those were different times. Today, manufacturing a competitive car requires millions in investment in R&D, electrification, and software, something that no nationalization led by politicians will solve.

The question remains in the air: Who pays the bill for a nationalization that might end up in Chinese hands? Meanwhile, the brand remains owned by Volkswagen and the cars sold in Spain are increasingly manufactured abroad.