- SEAT PARTICIPATING IN THE MOSCOW MOTOR SHOW
- SPANISH BRAND DOUBLES NETWORK IN 2012, HAS 22 DEALERSHIPS
- SEAT ANNOUNCES THE ARRIVAL OF THE ALHAMBRA TO THE RUSSIAN MARKET THIS AUTUMN
- SUCCESS IN NEW MARKETS: MEXICO, ALGERIA, ISRAEL
Moscow, 29.08.2012 – SEAT reinforces its presence in Russia and strengthens its international expansion plans. The Spanish company, participating in the Moscow Motor Show opening today, has opened a new chapter hand-in-hand with the Volkswagen Group importer to profit from the experience of the company in this market.
So far this year SEAT has doubled the size of its network in Russia, and already has 22 dealerships there – located in Moscow and St. Petersburg, plus other major cities such as Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Rostov-on-Don. SEAT will open three new dealerships before year’s end, bringing the total number to 25, from 10 at the beginning of the year. The aim of opening further dealerships is to cover most of the regions of the European part of the country.
SEAT Executive Committee Chairman James Muir stated Russia is yet another example of company’s strategy to open up new markets. He added that “We see great potential for SEAT in markets like Russia. Great design, high quality, outstanding engineering and innovative technology bring something new and fresh to the dynamic Russian automotive market”. Muir concluded by saying: “The Moscow Motor Show represents a key stepping stone in the ambitions of SEAT in Russia”.
At the Moscow Motor Show – the country’s most important annual automotive industry event – SEAT has announced the growth of the product range in Russia with the start of sales of the brand’s MPV Alhambra this autumn. The Alhambra is in addition to the three models currently marketed in Russia: three versions of the Ibiza (3-door, 5-door, estate), the Leon and the crossover Altea Freetrack –the peak of the SEAT range in Russia–, all of which are built at the Martorell plant. Besides these four models, SEAT is also displaying the IBx, a hybrid crossover concept car than won accolades from the press and public at last year Geneva Motor Show for its winning combination of design and outstanding versatility.
Since Russia is a priority market for SEAT in both the short- and long-term, it has its own infrastructure in Moscow in charge of rolling out the development plan. Russia is a country with strong growth potential, and which aspires to make itself the largest car market in Europe over the next few years. In 2011 more than 2.6 million cars were sold – a figure beaten only by Germany (almost 3.2 million units) – and sales have grown 14.3% during the first half of 2012, exceeding 1.4 million vehicles.
Commercial success in new markets
Today SEAT exports about four of every five cars it manufactures to 75 different countries. One of its aims is to increase this percentage by opening up new markets –such as China, where marketing activities began last April – as well as increasing deliveries in those markets it has entered recently. For example, during the first half of 2012 SEAT has achieved strong growth in Mexico (10,214 cars sold, +20.5%), Algeria (5,191, +150.0%) and Israel (3,787, 85.7%). The company has also improved its deliveries over the same period in such competitive European markets as Germany (28,404, +8.0%), the United Kingdom (19,763, +6.8%) and Switzerland (4,159, +19.4%).
In parallel, this year the Spanish brand finds itself in the full flood of an unprecedented product offensive. Over the next few months the return of the Toledo and the new Leon will be added to the Mii and the new Ibiza, already on sale. Growth in the number of models will enable SEAT to broaden its market coverage and provide it with the optimal basis for continued growth in its export markets.
SEAT is the only company in its sector with the full-range capacity to design, develop, manufacture and market cars in Spain. A member of the Volkswagen Group, the multinational has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona), exporting approximately 80% of its vehicles to 75 countries. SEAT is market leader in Spain, and in 2011 had a total turnover of more than 5.0 billion euros, with overall deliveries amounting to 350,000 units.
SEAT Group employs more than 14,000 professionals at its three production centres in Barcelona – Zona Franca, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where it manufactures the highly successful Ibiza and Leon, amongst other models. The Volkswagen Group production facility at Palmela in Portugal supplies the SEAT Alhambra and the factory in Bratislava (Slovakia) manufactures the SEAT Mii.
The Spanish multinational also has a Technical Center, a ‘knowledge hub’, bringing together more than 900 engineers whose goal is to be the driving force behind innovation for the number one industrial investor in R&D in Spain. In line with its declared commitment to environmental protection, SEAT undertakes and bases its core activity on sustainability, namely reduction of CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, as well as recycling and re-use of resources.
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Text and photographs by: SEAT.
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