Micromobility, understood above all by motorcycles and small electric urban vehicles, is the alternative that is being considered for the Seat brand in the face of the acceleration of the subsidiary Cupra, which this year will already contribute more than 50% of the turnover of the automobile group.
Seat already has an agreement with Silence regarding motorcycles and is now negotiating the supply of a small quadricycle that the Acciona subsidiary plans to manufacture at the former Nissan facilities in the Zona Franca. It is a project to be developed through the subsidiary Seat Mo, which currently sells 7,000 motorcycles a year.
This was announced this morning by the CEO of Seat and Cupra, Wayne Griffiths, during the presentation of the results for 2022, a year in which losses were managed. Business volume grew by 14% and reached 10,513 million euros, the second highest figure in its history after 2019, before the pandemic. Operating profit reached 179 million euros, in contrast to losses of 371 million the previous year, although 293 million euros of extraordinary costs have previously been deducted to finance a plan for 1,300 retirements. The profit after taxes was 68 million, according to Spanish accounting standards. According to international standards it was 33 million, as presented by the Volkswagen group last week.
“In the midst of a perfect storm of challenges, Seat made decisions in 2022 that will define our history in the coming years,” explained Wayne Griffiths. “Prioritizing Cupra, implementing a new cost reduction plan and redefining our way of working were crucial to guarantee the long-term stability of the company. A great step forward was also taken towards electrification with the commitment, together with the Volkswagen Group, PowerCo and the partners of the Future: Fast Forward project, to invest 10,000 million euros to transform Spain into a European hub for electric vehicles”.
With this investment and a more robust business structure, in 2023 Seat will advance at full speed in the electrification of Martorell and will prepare for the biggest Cupra product offensive, which begins in 2024, Griffiths has highlighted. The CEO has ruled out modifying the electrification plans in view of the turn that is taking place in Europe after, against all odds, Germany vetoed at the last moment the ban on selling new combustion cars as early as 2035. Seat and the VW group plan to abandon combustion around 2030. “Our commitment to emissions is firm,” declared the CEO of the Spanish brand
The year 2023 has started better than expected with greater availability of semiconductors, which has made it possible to manufacture with hardly any recourse to the temporary employment regulation file (ERTE) currently in force. In the first two months of the year, group sales have grown by 27%: 12% for the Seat brand and 75% for Cupra.
The pull of Cupra has been precisely what has allowed the income statement to be straightened out. “Although our volume of cars sold in 2022 was 4% lower than in 2021 due to semiconductor shortages, our turnover grew 14% compared to 2021 and revenue per vehicle increased 18%. The change in trend in the company has been achieved thanks to the increase in the proportion of Cupra models sold, an aggressive revenue management strategy, reduction of general costs and improvements in efficiency”, said David Powels, Vice President of Finance and IT. .
Cupra is currently preparing for its biggest product offensive, which will start in 2024 with the launch of the Tavascan and Terramar, followed by the smaller Urban Rebel in 2025. These new models will allow the brand to enter new segments and markets and achieve its medium-term goal of selling 500,000 cars a year, according to data provided this Wednesday. In addition, progress is being made in globalization. Having entered Australia, it now plans to tackle the difficult US market and this year alone, Cupra plans to open new City Garages (large exhibition and sales centers) in Berlin, Madrid, Manchester and Paris. “The future is Cupra”, Griffiths has made clear
