Seat is to embark on a five-year restructuring plan - and company CEO James Muir has described it as "the last attempt for Seat as a brand".
"This is the last attempt for the brand. It wouldn't make sense to think anything else," Muir said, acknowledging his VW Group bosses are growing increasingly frustrated with the brand.
However, he acknowledged: "If one would want to get rid of Seat, one would have to give the other part money to take it."
Plans include better use of Seat's Martorell factory near Barcelona, which can produce 500,000 vehicles a year but currently runs at only 60 per cent capacity.
Muir stated that the plant must run at 90 per cent capacity to be profitable. Initiatives include production of Audi's small SUV, the Q3, in Spain from 2011. Around 80,000 units of that car are expected to be built per year.
Seat's previous three-year turnaround plan failed: sales fell 8.5 per cent to 336,683 cars in 2009.
Muir replaced Erich Schmitt last September.
The company's first quarter losses this year were lower year-on-year, at 110 million euros (£100m).
"I cannot solely rely on cost reduction to make Seat profitable. It'll be an uphill battle, but I believe it is possible," added Muir.
Fonte: autocar.co.uk
"This is the last attempt for the brand. It wouldn't make sense to think anything else," Muir said, acknowledging his VW Group bosses are growing increasingly frustrated with the brand.
However, he acknowledged: "If one would want to get rid of Seat, one would have to give the other part money to take it."
Plans include better use of Seat's Martorell factory near Barcelona, which can produce 500,000 vehicles a year but currently runs at only 60 per cent capacity.
Muir stated that the plant must run at 90 per cent capacity to be profitable. Initiatives include production of Audi's small SUV, the Q3, in Spain from 2011. Around 80,000 units of that car are expected to be built per year.
Seat's previous three-year turnaround plan failed: sales fell 8.5 per cent to 336,683 cars in 2009.
Muir replaced Erich Schmitt last September.
The company's first quarter losses this year were lower year-on-year, at 110 million euros (£100m).
"I cannot solely rely on cost reduction to make Seat profitable. It'll be an uphill battle, but I believe it is possible," added Muir.
Fonte: autocar.co.uk
Será que vamos assistir ao fim da Seat? Pessoalmente não sabia que as coisas estavam tão mal por aqueles lados.
Honestamente acho que é inevitável a VW livrar-se da Seat ou da Skoda mais cedo ou mais tarde. Aqui há uns anos atrás a Seat era apenas uma alternativa barata à VW. Eram carros que tinham como primeira preocupação o preço reduzido. Hoje em dia a Skoda ocupa esse lugar no grupo VW, mas está claramente a subir em termos de reputação. Já não é vista como apenas uma marca barata, mas como uma marca com a melhor relação qualidade-preço do mercado. Para além tem carros de segmentos acima dos Seat. Ou seja, daqui a uns anos quando acabar o preconceito contra a Skoda, vamos começar a ver a marca checa a vai estar melhor colocada nos segmentos superiores do que a Seat. E é muito mais fácil para a Skoda "descer" do que para a Seat "subir".
Neste momento não compensa comprar Seat. A diferença de preços para a VW não justifica a opção pela marca espanhola. Até em termos estéticos já esteve muito melhor.
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