- SEAT delivered 410,200 cars in 2016, its best result since 2007
- Sales growth close to 30% since 2012
- Leon and Alhambra smash their all-time deliveries record
- Turkey, Austria, Poland, Sweden and Portugal, the markets making the biggest strides
- SEAT has upgraded 60% of showrooms with its new corporate identity
SEAT concluded 2016 with increased sales for the fourth consecutive year. The carmaker delivered a total of 410,200 vehicles, which is 2.6% more than in 2015 (400,000) and the best result since 2007. In the last four years, SEAT sales have gone up by 27.8%, which represents 89,200 more cars than in 2012 (321,000). The new Ateca has spurred SEAT deliveries. 24,200 units of the company’s first-ever SUV have been sold since it reached dealerships last July. Thanks to its successful launch, SEAT deliveries in the second half of 2016 increased by 5.3%.
The Ateca figures are complemented by growth posted by the Alhambra and the Leon. Both models concluded 2016 with their highest ever sales results. Coinciding with its 20th anniversary, sales of the brand’s large MPV saw double-digit improvement, increasing by 13.6% to stand at 30,700 units. In terms of the Leon, its sales went up by 3.0% to reach 165,000 vehicles. This is the best sales result of the Leon since it was launched in 1999, and cements its place as the brand’s best-selling model. Furthermore, the Ibiza is approaching the end of its fourth generation with high sales volumes of its own, ending 2016 with 152,000 vehicles deliveries, which is only slightly lower than 2015 (-0.9%).
SEAT President Luca de Meo expressed his satisfaction with the results. “Our product offensive has just begun, and for yet another year our performance has earned us positive results. The launch of the Ateca enables us to face the future with optimism: it’s already the brand’s third pillar, and starting this year its contribution to sales is going to be much more noticeable”. Speaking about 2017, Luca de Meo added, “with the updated Leon, the fifth generation Ibiza and the new Arona we set ourselves the goal of increasing our sales volume. 2017 is going to be a very special year for SEAT”.
320,000 vehicles delivered in Western Europe
SEAT sales in Western Europe reached 319,900 units, 2.2% more than in 2015 (312,800) thanks to momentum in markets such as Austria (+12.9%), Sweden (+31.3%) and Portugal (+17.0%). This is the best result in the region since 2007. SEAT also ended the year with a positive balance in five major European countries. In Germany, the brand’s largest market, sales went up by 2.5% to reach 90,000 units, while Spain came in second with 77,200 vehicles delivered (+0.1%). The United Kingdom and France, SEAT’s third and fifth largest markets, improved by 0.5% totalling 47,400 and 22,500 vehicles respectively, while sales grew by 3.9% in Italy, the company’s seventh largest market, with a total of 16,500 cars delivered.
All-time sales records in Turkey and Israel
Growth in Poland (+22.0%), SEAT’s largest market in the region, and in Hungary (+11.1%) drove SEAT sales in Eastern Europe, with an overall 8.2% increase to stand at 28,200 vehicles (2015: 26,100). This is the highest sales figure in the region since 2008. In addition, SEAT sales went up by 3.2% in the Czech Republic, where the company posted its best ever result.
In 2016, SEAT once again broke its sales record in Turkey and Israel. Turkey, the company’s sixth largest market, contributed more new volume after increasing by 41.7% to stand at 19,700 vehicles, 5,800 more than in 2015. In Israel, SEAT grew by 6.2% and recorded a total of 8,000 units sold. In addition, in Mexico, the brand’s fourth largest market, SEAT sales totaled 24,500 vehicles, 1.5% more than the previous year.
Furthermore, SEAT began its marketing efforts in Singapore and Mauritius in 2016, two new markets that join Moldova and Palestine, which were opened up in 2015.
SEAT’s product offensive, which began with the Ateca, will continue in 2017. This month, the updated Leon will start arriving in dealerships in several markets, followed by the new Ibiza in the first six months of the year, and subsequently the new Arona. The launch of the Ateca is having a positive impact on customer deliveries, as well as on the company’s financial results. In the first nine months of 2016, the company posted an operating profit of 137 million euros, a figure which is 11 times higher than the profit obtained in the same period the year before.
Updates to the dealership network
SEAT finished 2016 having upgraded 60% of its network of more than 1,700 showrooms with its new corporate identity. The new look conveys a seamless link between SEAT’s corporate identity and brand design, symbolising the values of the company to create an open and welcoming environment.