The future of one of the most important automotive companies in Catalonia's industrial history is uncertain. A couple of weeks ago, Volkswagen —owner of the Seat brand— announced that its idea was "to withdraw it in an orderly manner and with cost optimization, at the latest by the end of 2029, while guaranteeing service to existing customers." These statements have caused various actors in the Catalan automotive and business sector to erupt. Unions, entities, and even the Catalan and Spanish public administrations are concerned about these statements and recognize that the fall of this brand cannot be allowed. From different sides, they reaffirm the value of Seat in society. For its part, the brand itself recognized in a statement that nothing had been decided and that Volkswagen's statements were not definitive. The institutional and organizational response defends a certain sense of belonging to the brand and a clear emotional value. Experts, however, from a more pragmatic perspective, remind us that the fall of a brand should not directly affect the loss of the company and, therefore, speak with a certain tranquility about the preservation of jobs and the Martorell plant, Seat's main manufacturing site, but also a great asset for Volkswagen.
"The brand must be separated from the company," explains Francesc Rufas, expert consultant in Strategic Marketing and Commercial Strategy and professor at EAE Business School, to The New Barcelona Post. For him, the struggle of the actors in the automotive sector is completely emotional, and he reminds us that Volkswagen made a big bet on the Martorell plant, regardless of Seat's situation. Rufas argues that the loss of the brand should not directly affect the business situation and, therefore, does not see any need to worry about the workers, who "could continue working in Martorell, but manufacturing cars of other brands of the parent company," or even Cupras, the brand that Seat created a few years ago and where more communication and marketing efforts are being made. In contrast, Jordi Catalan, professor of Economic History at the University of Barcelona (UB), states that "Seat will not disappear." While agreeing with Rufas's conclusions, Catalan perceives that the Seat brand still has a large market of customers looking for "good and cheap" and, as long as there is a market, there will be a game.
The opinion that the two consulted experts do share to the millimeter is the reason for Volkswagen's statement. "They have launched a trial balloon," both say in conversations with this newspaper. In this way, the parent company knows that it is not going through its best moment in terms of sales and turnover, as the entry of new Chinese competitors has made it lose market share. That is why restructuring will be necessary, but Catalan argues that "the most expensive plants will begin to close" and concludes with "the highest salaries are not those of the Martorell plant, they are in Germany." Given this context, experts reflect on this possible announcement as a way to see how the sector reacts, and even to assess the Spanish government's capacity to intervene with "more aid or subsidies," says the UB professor. Although none of the experts can guarantee the decisions of the parent company, they see it as unlikely that Seat will disappear overnight from 2030, the deadline when Volkswagen's new restructuring plan will be launched.
To understand why Seat has ceased to be an important asset within Volkswagen, one must go back to before electric cars and the Cupra brand made a place for themselves in the market. In the market for good, beautiful, and cheap cars, several brands competed, among them Skoda and Seat, both within the parent company and great opposing examples. At the time, Seat positioned itself far above the Estonian company, due to its commitment to electric and hybrid cars. However, the creation of Cupra turned all eyes to these new cars and led the rebranding of the brand. Seat became secondary and Skoda put all its efforts into reviving its reputation and finding more market share. Currently, it can be seen how these efforts have borne fruit and —according to the figures given by Rufas— "Skoda is Volkswagen's second best-selling brand." Seat, for its part, has lost sales and market penetration and, although Cupra continues to rise, efforts could no longer be dedicated to reinventing what was once a great historic brand.
The practical effects of Seat's loss
It is evident that losing such an important brand in the Catalan automotive sector is not a pleasant prospect. However, the reality that must be taken into account is the real repercussions this downfall would have. For the experts consulted, there is no need to worry about the Martorell plant, and, as they have previously stated, it is too large an asset for Volkswagen. With this statement, it is assumed that workers' salaries should be guaranteed, but it is not surprising that unions view the parent company's intentions with concern. The general secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, admitted in statements to the media that "they are worried" about its possible disappearance and the cut of some 50,000 jobs across the group. These salaries, however, are what Volkswagen puts on the table for its entire company and, explicitly, the company has spoken of the German plants in Emden, Zwickau, Hannover, and Neckarsulm, with no indications that they should affect the Martorell plant, considering that the plant manufactures around half a million cars.
However, currently almost everything manufactured in Martorell is Seat and Cupra, except for one Audi line. Therefore, the use of the Martorell plant should be linked to the arrival of other models to be manufactured at the facilities. This is precisely the opinion defended by the president of the Seat works council and member of the supervisory board, Matías Carnero, who maintains the need to preserve the Seat brand, but sees this assignment of new models as "fundamental" if Volkswagen ultimately decides not to bet on the brand. Otherwise, the situation would be "critical". Nevertheless, he is "firmly convinced" that no "problematic" scenario will be reached because the Martorell factory "is the most technological, operational, productive, and with the best training qualification": "It is the only Spanish automotive company that manufactures vehicles integrally," he recalls.
An emotional opposition
Seat, founded on May 9, 1950, and which last year celebrated its 75th anniversary, is one of the most iconic and recognizable international brands in the automotive sector in Spain, and its cars have been part of the lives of different generations. It has also been a brand that has managed to reinvent itself with the creation of Cupra and its commitment to electrification. Currently, the Seat brand offers the Ibiza, Arona, Leon, León Sportstourer, and Ateca models, which include combustion engines, mild hybrids, and also plug-in hybrids. That is why the issue of Seat has become a real dance of emotions. All public institutions and entities in the automotive and business sectors have rushed to the media to demand the maintenance of the brand. Foment del Treball and the UPM (metallurgical employers' association) demanded, in their respective statements, "respect" and "preservation" for the brand. Even the Spanish government got involved and Carlos Cuerpo, vice president and minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, assured that the State would make "all necessary efforts" to maintain the Seat brand, although, in recent statements, the Secretary of State for Industry, Jordi García, ruled out that this effort would involve entering Seat's board of directors.
In short, Seat has become a matter of state long before its future is confirmed. For now, Volkswagen has not mentioned the brand again since the announcement, and Seat has remained out of all controversy. In a statement last week, the company specified that the future of the brand beyond the current production cycle "was still being analyzed" and that all "options were open." Be that as it may, experts maintain their reluctance to approve a plan to dismantle the brand and, even if it were true, they assure that it is not likely to directly affect the lives of the brand's workers. "The continuity of Martorell must be ensured," repeats Rufas, who concludes that, after all, the debate about preserving the Seat brand "is a purely emotional issue."