Volkswagen Group is planning to ditch its Seat and ID car brands, possibly by the end of this decade, as it refocuses consumers on its more popular nameplates.
While the ID sub-brand is serving a purpose in distinguishing VW’s new electric cars from its traditional range, the Volkswagen brand will stick with its familiar car names for electric cars in the future, acording to its board mnember Thomas Schäfer.
And he said the earning potential of Cupra is far greater than Seat, so the group is clear where its investment will be best placed and “the future of Seat is Cupra”.
Since it was bought by Volkswagen Group in 1986, the Seat brand has struggled to deliver sustainable growth in sales and profitability.
Schäfer said the names Volkswagen will use in the future “definitely” are Golf, Tiguan and GTI. “That is given. The others we will look at on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
“ID.3 was a name which was necessary to differentiate it from the ICE models. But we probably don’t need that going into the future,” he told Electrifying.com.
Schäfer also told journalists at the IAA Munich.international motor show this week that “the future of Seat is Cupra” and confirmed that the group is planning to “ramp up” investment in the performance brand.
With its sharper styling and sportier brand positioning, Cupra has enabled Volkswagen Group to sell what are effectively the same cars as Seat but at higher list prices
Schäfer said it has become ‘prohibitive’ to continue investing in both Seat and Cupra, and VW Group will back Cupra due to its “far greater” earning potential and growing popularity, reports Autocar.
It is unclear what this means for Seat’s dealer network, however many franchisees also represent the Cupra franchise in the same location so impact could be mitigated.
In recent years Seat has tried to expand into other mobility channels, including with the launch of its electric scooter, Seat Mo.
“I’ve seen lots of new names come up and go but this was a good decision. Cupra is bigger than Alfa Romeo and Polestar, so not just new brands but also old,” he said.
As editor, Tim is responsible for the media content, planning and production of AM’s multiple channels (AM print and digital magazines, website, social media and contributing to our events planning). He interviews and writes about as many franchised dealer groups and UK divisions of motor manufacturers as possible, to explore the issues facing UK motor retail and understand what solutions dealers and suppliers are using to overcome these.
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