SEAT компаниясы: Мартореллдегі өндіріс орталығы

Spanish automobile manufacturer
the Spanish automotive company

The headquarters of SEAT S. A. is situated in Martorell, near Barcelona, at the company’s industrial complex. Over 468,000 units were produced in 2020 with more than 427,000 cars exported to over 75 countries worldwide.

The headquarters and main manufacturing facilities of the company are located in Martorell, an industrial town approximately 30 km northwest of Barcelona, with an annual production capacity of around 500,000 units. On 22 February 1993, King Juan Carlos of Spain inaugurated this plant, which became the main plant of SEAT and was accompanied by its assembly plant at the coast in Barcelona's free port zone (Zona Franca). There is a rail link connecting SEAT's Martorell and Zona Franca facilities, which facilitates the transportation of vehicles and parts between the two locations. The Martorell industrial complex houses numerous facilities, including Cupra Racing (formerly SEAT Sport), SEAT's Technical Center, Research and Development Center (R&D), Design Center, Prototypes Centre of Development, SEAT Service Center, which includes the After Sales Service and Customer Services divisions, as well as the Catalunya Motor dealership, and the Genuine Parts Centre for SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi, and Škoda brands. The factory in Martorell can sometimes assist the former SEAT plant in Pamplona, which is now owned by Volkswagen Audi Espana, S. A. SEAT Technical Centre, located in Martorell, is focused on R&D. More than 1,294 people work there. In that centre, SEAT fully develops new vehicles. The centre covers a surface area of 200,000m2. They use virtual reality technologies in order to design the “new SEAT” cars. SEAT Design Center: it officially opened in 2007 and is located within the SEAT Technical Center. This facility brings the entire design process together. As of 2020, 100 people work there. Prototype Development Centre (PDC) was inaugurated in 2007 and is one of SEAT's main projects. It consolidates the activities related to the initial phases of the design and development of a new model. It brings together the knowledge, personnel and resources of the Prototype departments of the SEAT Technical Centre and the Pilot Workshop of Process Engineering in Martorell under one roof. Spare Parts Centre is an area with 75,000m2 that distributes parts and components to SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi and Škoda dealers in Spain, to SEAT dealers in Portugal and also to SEAT importers all over the world. SEAT Service: The After Sales Service, SEAT Technical Training Centre and Catalunya Motor dealership. This facility covers a surface area of 8,000m2. As of 2020, the workforce is 170 employees. Cupra Racing (former SEAT Sport): this facility covers a surface area of 16,000m2 and is close to the manufacturing plant and the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell. This centre is where SEAT adds sporty finishes to the SEAT range and prepares different competition models, such as the Cupra León Competition or the Cupra e Racer.

SEAT's factory in Barcelona's Zona Franca started its activities in 1953 and was the production facility where the first SEAT models such as the SEAT 1400 and the 600 were built. In 1993, the car production began to get transferred to the new Martorell plant, and since then, the Barcelona factory has been producing parts such as doors, roofs, fenders and chassis. 80% of the production of the parts for the MQB A0, the compact modular platform of the Volkswagen Group on which the Ibiza and Arona are based, is carried out in these facilities, as well as most of the stamped parts for all other SEAT models. The development and assembly facilities are some of the newest within the Volkswagen Group, with the ability to produce cars not only for its own brand but also for other Volkswagen Group brands, such as Volkswagen and Audi. For example, the development and design of several Audi models (e. g. the Audi A1, the Audi A3 Sportback, the Audi Q5, etc.) and also several Audi development projects took place there. This plant is an industry benchmark, as it features elements such as the virtual simulation of the PXL press, 3D printing in the maintenance workshop, the automatic shifting between sealing tips of the robots in the body shop, and the automation of the logistics flow through automated guided vehicles. The Barcelona Zona Franca site includes the SEAT Training Centre, the Zona Franca Press Shop factory, producing stamped body parts, and the Barcelona Gearbox del Prat plant, producing gearboxes not only for SEAT but also for other Volkswagen Group marques (Volkswagen, Audi, and Škoda); the latter plant was awarded the Volkswagen Excellence Award in 2009 by the Volkswagen Group for high quality production process and product. was the Landaben plant in Pamplona, but in December 1993 its ownership was transferred to the Volkswagen Group subsidiary "Volkswagen Audi Espana, S. A. ", and the site today is producing Volkswagen cars in Spain. However, SEAT's Martorell site still provides support to Volkswagen's operations in the Pamplona plant when necessary, as it did after a serious fire in the paint shop in the Landaben VW plant in April 2007. Factories of the Volkswagen Group currently producing SEAT models also include the Bratislava site in Slovakia, the Volkswagen Zwickau Mosel Plant in Zwickau, Germany (where the Cupra Born EV model is produced alongside the Volkswagen ID.3 Electric vehicle); the AutoEuropa factory in Palmela, Portugal, and Wolfsburg in Germany. Since 2016, SEAT also holds a museum in the Zona Franca's 'Nave A122' site, which hosts all production and prototype models ever presented by SEAT together with some special or limited edition vehicles with historical value for the brand and the automotive history of Spain. Among SEAT's subsidiaries, the SEAT Deutschland GmbH subsidiary company is based in Mörfelden Walldorf, Germany, and apart from its commercial activities, has the further responsibility of operating SEAT's electronic platform, the SEAT IT Services Network. In Wolfsburg, Germany, in the middle of a lake inside the Autostadt, the Volkswagen Group's corporate theme park, is SEAT's thematic pavilion, one of the largest pavilions in the park.

Casa SEAT: is a benchmark urban mobility promotional lab and was inaugurated in June 2020. It is located in Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona and is SEAT MÓ's headquarters. SEAT: CODE (Center of Digital Excellence) is the software development centre. Since its establishment in 2019, it has led the company's digital transformation and created digital solutions to boost SEAT, Cupra and SEAT MÓ. In July 2020, this centre inaugurated its headquarters in Barcelona. SEAT's dealers: Besides selling SEAT and Cupra, some also offer second hand vehicles or KM0 under the company DasWeltAuto, belonging to the Volkswagen Group. Many dealers also offer maintenance, parts, supplies and repair of the models. Outside Spain, SEAT has distributors in more than 70 countries. SEAT Componentes produces gearboxes for SEAT, Volkswagen, Audi and Škoda in its factory in El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona). It was founded in 1979; the facilities cover more than 150,000 square meters and have a manufacturing capacity of up to 3,500 gearboxes daily, in a complete process that goes from the foundry to assembling and quality control. In 2020 this facility had more than 1,000 employees and produced two different gearbox models: the MQ200 and the new MQ281. Their combined maximum capacity is 800 thousand gearboxes per year.

In its more than 70 year history, it was only during the period from 1953 to 1965 that the firm produced cars exclusively for the domestic Spanish market. In 1965, in a rather symbolic move, the company exported some 150 units of its SEAT 600 model (licensed verison of the Fiat 600) destined for Colombia by air freight for the first time, until two years later, in 1967, SEAT reached a deal over the renegotiation of its license contract with Fiat that allowed the Spanish firm to form an international distribution network for its cars and thereafter start its export operations to more than 12 countries, entering the export market in 1969. Until the early 1980s, however, most SEAT exports were sold with Fiat badging. As a response to SEAT's bid for independence, Fiat committed themselves to sell 200,000 SEAT built cars a year from 1981, compared to 120,000 the year before. At the end of 1983, just after SEAT had won its legal battle with Fiat, a quarter of the production went to Egypt and Latin America. In Europe, they were represented in West Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, and Greece. The UK, Ireland, and various Scandinavian markets were planned to be added in 1984. This was despite the company only being able to export the Ronda, with the Fura to follow. In Europe, the brand has been launched in almost 40 countries across the continent. SEAT today also sells its cars in 11 countries in Asia, mostly in the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula, in 16 countries in the Americas, including North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, and finally Africa, mainly in North Africa. Some of its cars have been sold outside Europe, branded as Volkswagens, such as the SEAT Ibiza hatchback, known in South Africa as the Volkswagen Polo Playa, the SEAT Inca panel van as the Volkswagen Caddy, or the SEAT Córdoba, also known as the Volkswagen Polo Classic. As of 2012, SEAT was planning to expand into the Chinese market, first with Spanish produced models, followed later in a second phase by the local assembly of SEAT models in China. SEAT's further expansion plans in more markets outside of Europe have yet to be realised. The company was considering a possible launch in the United States in the past, although this move has never been carried out. Rumours also of a SEAT model being sold as a Volkswagen in Canada and the United States to supplement Volkswagen's brand lineup there have occasionally circulated, but have always been unsubstantiated, and ultimately proven to be false. In the past, other market areas where the brand was also present for a short time were Australia and New Zealand (from 1995 to 1999) and South Africa (from June 2006 to the end of 2008). Still, the brand was withdrawn from those markets due to Volkswagen's decision citing that current and expected circumstances made the ongoing importation of a niche brand unviable. SEAT sold cars in the Russian Federation from 2007 to 2015. SEAT was reintroduced to the New Zealand market in 2017. SEAT re entered the Australian market in 2022, selling vehicles under their performance marque Cupra. SEAT plans to re launch in the United States and Canada in mid 2024, selling vehicles under their performance marque Cupra.

Spain is the world's eighth largest manufacturer of automobiles. Its car market stands among the largest in Europe. However, this has not always been the case; in the first half of the 20th century, Spain's economy was relatively underdeveloped compared to most other Western European countries and had a limited automobile market. In this period, car production was limited, with only a few low volume local manufacturers catering mainly to the luxury end of the market, of which Hispano Suiza was the most successful. Spain's limited market for mass produced vehicles was taken over by foreign companies operating through subsidiaries that either imported cars or assembled cars from imported parts, depriving the country of the technological know how and large investments needed for mass production. The situation greatly deteriorated with the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. Car demand collapsed not only due to the greatly reduced purchasing power of Spaniards caused by war devastation but also because the multinational subsidiaries either ceased operations or were severely stricken by the war and its aftermath. The lack of interest shown by the foreign firms in the weakened post civil war Spanish market opened an opportunity for local interests. SEAT dates its origins back to June 22, 1940, when the Spanish bank 'Banco Urquijo', with the support of a group of industrial companies, (Hispano Suiza, Basconia, Duro Felguera, S. E. de Construcción Naval, Euskalduna, S. E. de Construcciones Metálicas, Fundiciones
Bolueta, Echevarría, etc.) founded the 'Sociedad Ibérica de Automóviles de Turismo' (S. I. A. T.) to establish Spain's own mass production car maker. The initial Banco Urquijo's project aimed at running the S. I. A. T. motor company as a fully private enterprise, but soon after 1941, the interventionist state holding company Instituto Nacional de Industria followed a decision taken by the Franco government on January 3, 1942. The goal for the new national car brand was not to be only another licensee car maker assembling foreign designs and parts in Spain, but of developing the whole manufacturing process from design to assembly within Spain. Because of the country's lack of expertise in automotive mass production development, finding a foreign partner that would contribute technically and with its models in the early years in exchange for cash, shares, bonds, and royalties became the course of action. With the rest of Europe having entered World War II, and Spain itself in ruins from its civil war, the project was delayed but not abandoned due to its strategic importance. SEAT under its current name was founded on May 9, 1950, under the denomination 'Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, S. A.' (S. E. A. T.) by the Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI) with a starting capital of 600 million pesetas – equivalent today of almost 3.6 million euros – in the form of 600,000 shares of 1000 pesetas each, and in a time when the country needed remodelling the fundamental structures in its national economy, just after the end of World War II. The birth of SEAT came almost a year and a half after the Spanish government and six Spanish banks ('Banco Urquijo', 'Banco Español de Crédito (Banesto)', 'Banco de Bilbao', 'Banco de Vizcaya', 'Banco Hispano Americano', and 'Banco Central') had signed on October 26, 1948, an alliance contract with the Italian car manufacturer Fiat to form a partnership with a foreign ally to bring to life Spain's major car manufacturer. The favoured bidders were Germany's Volkswagen and Italy's Fiat. Fiat's bid won for several reasons, including Fiat's prominence in Spain and the fact that the company established the short lived 'Fiat Hispania' plant in Guadalajara, which was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. Fiat's collaboration with the French company Simca proved Fiat's ability to manage complex international projects. Fiat's experience in the semiprotected car market in Italy was seen as the most easily transferable to the one in Spain, both of which had, at the time, customers of low incomes and limited markets for cars, as well as similar road conditions. In Italy, Fiat dominated the market for vehicles under 12 horsepower, which would initially be the main market segment in Spain. The relative economic isolation of World War II damaged Italy and made Fiat interested in opportunities outside Italy, meaning that the negotiations with the Italian manufacturer could prosper more easily in favour of Spanish interests than those from other countries. In 1947, the Banco Urquijo group revived the S. I. A. T. project. In the next year, the talks ended successfully with the signing of a three part contract, with the understanding that the INI would hold a 51% controlling interest, as well as a ruling act in the new company preserving a focused approach of the enterprise in the 'national interest'. The Banco Urquijo group, although a minority shareholder, looked forward to assuming a leading role in the future as soon as the company was privatised. Partner carmaker Fiat was offered a 7% share in exchange for its technical assistance. This way, SEAT would not only be able to reinitiate the country's economic recovery as the largest employer in the 1960s and '70s but would also contribute to the industrialisation of a largely rural economy. Though initial thoughts were of locating in less developed inland cities such as Valladolid and Burgos, the company decided the plant would be constructed in the duty free zone area of the Port of Barcelona (Barcelona Zona Franca), which would offer better access to the Mediterranean shipping and the rest of Europe through rail and road connections across the nearby French border. Barcelona was, after all, a city with an industrial history that had built up expertise in complex industrial enterprises since the latter part of the 19th century; it was also the host location of many early historical Spanish carmakers, such as Hispano Suiza and Elizalde, and subsidiaries of foreign carmakers, such as Ford Motor Ibérica and General Motors Peninsular. Being an enterprise of vital interest for the national economy and an investment opportunity for Fiat's expansion plans through the Iberian peninsula, SEAT benefitted from state tariff and tax exemptions and technical assistance from its foreign partner Fiat. The company's first president was the industrial and aeronautical engineer, pilot, and photographer José Ortiz Echagüe Puertas, who came from the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA, where he had held the position of CEO, and who in 1976 was named the Honorary lifetime president of SEAT.

The construction works for SEAT's Zona Franca plant began in 1950, and the opening day came three years later on June 5, 1953, while in the meantime since 1951, the Spanish marque was starting preparations for setting up almost from scratch an entire supplier industry background. The first car in the marque's history to be produced was a SEAT 1400 model that came off the production line on November 13, 1953, with license plate B 87.223. In the following few months, the plant's production output and workforce significantly increased together with the implementation of locally made components in the production process to limit imports from one part and from another part to push the development of the almost nonexistent Spanish supplier industry and meet SEAT's assigned key role as the national carmaker in restoring the Spanish economy of post–World War II Spain. By 1954, the use of Spanish made parts had risen to 93% of the total, and the factory was officially opened the next year on May 5, 1955. Nevertheless, the impact on Spanish society could not be seen immediately since the first model launched by SEAT was considered a luxury car, so it was highly priced and still not affordable to the average Spanish consumer. Consequently, SEAT needed a second, more economical model to compete against simpler, inexpensive designs that appeared in the local market, like the Biscúter, which seemed to suit better the unwealthy customers looking for a personal means of transport in a suffering economy. Until the time SEAT had the technical maturity and expertise to present its first self developed model, the SEAT 1200 Sport in 1975, in its beginnings, the company had to manufacture either rebadged or restyled models borrowed from the range of its Italian partner Fiat Automobiles or even redeveloped them according to the needs of its range. However, the first example of a SEAT exclusive derivative would arrive in September 1963 with the launch of the SEAT 800, a car developed in house by SEAT with no equivalent model in Fiat's range based on the SEAT 600 as a stretched version with four doors. In 1957 SEAT founded the SEAT Training Centre in the greater Zona Franca plant area, an institution covering the training of qualified personnel and serving the needs of the automobile industry in specialized technical human resources. In that same year, the historical SEAT 600 was launched, which proved to be the crucial car that literally motorized Spain, being the first car for many Spanish families and becoming a symbol of the Spanish miracle. As the annual production growth was hitting one record after another due to the heavy demand, the economies of scale permitted cutting costs and prices, subsequently renewing demand and boosting sales together with profits for SEAT. On June 29, 1964, the brand opened its new headquarters in Madrid, which hosted the firm's sole – up to 1972 – general administration offices. SEAT's plant manager was only in Barcelona until 1973 when SEAT settled another general director in Catalonia. In 1967, 14 years after producing cars for the domestic market, SEAT's success was signalled by its dominant position in Spain, ahead of its major competitors, i. e. 'FASA Renault', 'Citroën Hispania', Authi, and Barreiros, making SEAT Spain's largest automaker in sales numbers and a wholly localized production. In that year, an agreement between Fiat and the Spanish Ministry of Industry was reached to end the restrictions over exporting SEAT cars from Spain, a term of the original licensee contract agreed with Fiat in 1948. In exchange for that, Fiat would increase its holding in the company from 7% to 36%. At the same time, the share held by the government holding agency would be reduced from a controlling 51% to 32%. The six major Spanish banks took the remaining 32%, which decreased from their previous 42% share split equally into 7% parts owned by every single one. Although not a majority owner, Fiat now was seen to control the business: the deal also included various undertakings by Fiat to help in the growth of SEAT, and with the development of a new model (possibly the SEAT 133). On December 6, 1967, SEAT also founded its own customer financing company 'Financiera SEAT, S. A.' (Fiseat). To produce its own research projects independently, on November 16, 1970, SEAT came in accordance with Fiat to start building separate infrastructures aimed at developing new technologies. In 1972, the brand arranged some provisional facilities for the site of the future technical centre in Martorell, and in 1973, it began construction work; this goal would come only until 1975 to be reached with the completion of the first phase in the construction of a facility designed by the Catalan architect Josep Antoni Coderch. During the same period, the manufacturer continued to dominate the Spanish auto market, producing 282,698 cars – more than 58% of the Spanish production total – in 1971, despite the disruption that year caused by strikes and a serious flood at the coastally sited Barcelona plant. However, with just 81 cars per 1000 people, Spanish car sales were seen as ripe for further growth, and SEAT faced the prospect of increased competition with other major manufacturers contemplating the establishment or expansion of local production facilities in the still heavily protected Spanish car market. In May 1975, after a request from the Spanish state authorities to ensure the rescue of the jobs for the workers in the Authi owned factories, SEAT moved on talks with the parent company British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) of the bankrupt Authi to take over the brand's operations in Spain, leaving aside GM's interest in it, which would otherwise open the path for the American automaker to enter the Spanish market, thus jeopardizing the relationship with Fiat. The talks ended in July 1975, when an agreement was announced between the two parties under which SEAT would acquire from BLMC the Authi brand along with its assets for 1,250 million pesetas. The imposed acquisition of the Landaben plant would also give up SEAT's plans to build a new facility in Saragossa. Although the Authi supplier factory in Manresa was transferred to a company called Cometsa for 150 million pesetas, the Landaben plant in Pamplona remained under SEAT's ownership to continue production in February 1976 only of SEAT cars this time. The 1970s were a decade of rising prosperity in Spain, which is reflected in the announcement in August 1976 that SEAT would commence local production of the Lancia Beta. Three years later, Beta production by SEAT indeed commenced at the company's recently acquired Pamplona plant, though only the coupe and HPE lift back versions were included. The Spanish cars were fitted with a simplified suspension system and smaller engines than their Italian counterparts to qualify for a lower car tax rate. In 1977, SEAT's leasing company Liseat was founded. In 1979, the Gearbox del Prat facility was set up as a specialised plant for producing gearboxes, gear mechanisms, and differentials in El Prat del Llobregat near Barcelona.

In the early 1980s, extensive discussions concerning funding and control took place between SEAT's major shareholder, the Spanish government, and Fiat Automobiles; SEAT needed major capital investment, which Fiat was not prepared to contribute, partially due to the oil crisis of the 1970s and also due to the uncertainty for Fiat's interests following the end of a protectionist policy against GM in Spain. The outcome, in 1982, was an end to the relationship with Fiat after nearly 30 years, a rather surprising decision despite the favourable perspectives for the Spanish economy, with Spain being in the anteroom of the European Economic Community since 1977. The end of the cooperation with the Italian firm was marked by a change in SEAT's logo in 1982, and the first car under the new SEAT logo without Fiat's involvement appeared in the same year, the SEAT Ronda, styled by Rayton Fissore in collaboration with the technical centre in Martorell. The launch of this model sparked a lawsuit from Fiat against SEAT, as the former claimed the car was too similar to a car in Fiat's range, the Ritmo. In defence of SEAT, the then president of SEAT, Juan Miguel Antoñanzas, showed a Ronda to the press with all the parts different from the Fiat Ritmo painted in bright yellow to highlight the differences. The case was eventually taken to the Arbitration Chamber of Paris, which in 1983 declared that differences between both cars were important enough not to consider the Ronda as a rebadged Ritmo, ending the dispute in favour of SEAT. Rumour at the time had it that Fiat was angry because the Ronda restyling was, in fact, too close to their own planned restyling for the Fiat Ritmo, which they had to scrap.

In 1982, Dr. Carl Horst Hahn, who had just assumed responsibility as the chairman of the Volkswagenwerk AG (Volkswagen Group), examined the opportunity of approaching SEAT after Fiat's withdrawal in his plan to expand the Volkswagen Group's operations out of Germany and turning the German group into a global force. It also followed the precedent set by other global manufacturers (such as Ford in Valencia and General Motors in Zaragoza) in setting up manufacturing operations in Spain. However, the Spanish authorities had already started talks with other foreign firms, such as Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi to choose a strong partner for SEAT. Hahn's interest soon resulted in industrial and commercial cooperation, as well as a license agreement with SEAT on September 30, 1982, for the production in Spain of the Volkswagen Passat Santana and Polo Derby models in SEAT's Zona Franca and Landaben factories, respectively – having thus as an effect on April 29, 1983, the ending of the SEAT Panda's production at the Landaben assembly lines due to the need of adapting this plant to the production of the VW Polo – and eventually a partnership agreement was signed on June 16, 1983, between the two parties being represented by the president of SEAT Juan Miguel Antoñanzas and Carl Hahn on behalf of the Volkswagenwerk AG. SEAT also gained the rights to distribute Volkswagens in Spain. but only in 1989 was a decision made to start building a new main assembly facility next to the technical centre in Martorell, replacing the old one in Zona Franca. In that same year, the translocation of SEAT's Madrid administration offices to Barcelona began with the sale of two of the brand's assets in La Castellana to be completed in 1991 with the definitive installation of SEAT's headquarters in the Catalonia region. The centralisation of the management, design, research and production facilities localized around the plant site was meant to serve the aim of optimising the development of new models. On February 22, 1993, King Juan Carlos of Spain and the newly elected chairman of the Volkswagen Group Dr. Ferdinand Piëch inaugurated the Martorell plant, one of the most modern and efficient car plants in Europe, using the just in time process with its suppliers' site located only 2.5 km away. The first cars that rolled out of the Martorell plant lines were the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 and its saloon version, the SEAT Córdoba Mk1. The new Ibiza was a huge success for SEAT, greatly expanding its market share, particularly in export markets. The original planning in October 1993 to close the emblematic Zona Franca assembly plant as soon as the production of vehicles could be transferred to the more efficient Martorell plant was overturned after an arrangement between the Spanish authorities and the Volkswagen Group, according to which the Zona Franca site would continue its operations, but would be gradually turned into a site with an auxiliary role in the production process (foundry, press shop, etc.). Meanwhile, on December 23, 1993, the 'Fábrica Navarra de Automóviles, S. A. was founded as a new company to hold the management of the Landaben factory, separating any ties to SEAT in production matters, with its shares being transferred to Volkswagen in June 1994 over which, however, SEAT would regain ownership four years later in 1998. In 1994, the design centre in Sitges – the Spanish coastal town south of Barcelona – and the suppliers' park in Zona Franca were also inaugurated, and in the winter of the same year, SEAT's financing and leasing companies – Fiseat and Liseat – were sold to Volkswagen Financial Services AG. In 1994, SEAT, in collaboration with Suzuki, manufactured a five door prototype model of a city car, internally named Rosé, aiming to replace with it the Marbella in its range, but this model never made it through to production. The first time a SEAT model was manufactured out of Spain was in 1996, with the production of the SEAT Alhambra Mk1 in the Palmela AutoEuropa plant in Portugal. Also, in January 1997, a non Spanish descendant, the Belgian Pierre Alain de Smedt, was appointed SEAT's chairman for the first time. The SEAT Arosa, a three door city hatchback, was launched in 1997, effectively replacing the Marbella, SEAT's version of the Fiat Panda, which had been in production since the early 1980s. On April 7, 1998, the Zona Franca plant marked the end of the production lifecycle of the Marbella model, signalling a historical moment for SEAT with the end of vehicle production in SEAT's oldest factory, which opened in 1953; ever since the Zona Franca plant has produced components and parts to be assembled in other locations. It also signalled the demise of SEAT's last Fiat based model. In March 1999, at the Geneva Motor Show, SEAT presented a modern, stylised logo, more rounded than the last one and using the silver colour on a red background, instead of the previous blue, symbolising respectively the rational and the emotional. This came shortly after the launch of the second generation Toledo which used it as a badge and shortly before the launch of the Toledo based Leon hatchback. The "auto emoción" slogan was presented in September 2000, reflecting the brand's new youthful and sporty corporate identity, while SEAT Sport, apart from its motorsport activities, would undertake the responsibility of developing SEAT's high performance vehicles. On July 1, 2000, Dr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder, the former CEO of BMW, was appointed to head SEAT. In the spring of 2002, as Pischetsrieder was commissioned to chair the entire Volkswagen Group, he gave way to his German compatriot Andreas Schleef on March 7, 2002. From 2002 to 2007, SEAT formed part of the Audi Brand Group, the Volkswagen Group's automotive subdivision, consisting of Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini, which was focused on more sporty values, with the marque's product vehicles and performance being under the responsibility of the Audi brand. In 2006, the new SEAT corporate head office was opened in Martorell and the Martorell SEAT Design Centre superseded the Volkswagen Group Design Centre Europe at Sitges, which previously hosted the design facility jointly owned by SEAT, Volkswagen, and Audi, as on February 23 of the same year, an agreement over the transfer of the installations of the latter to the City of Sitges was closed, with the Martorell's Design Centre official opening eventually taking place on December 30, 2007. On January 12, 2007, the inauguration of the building of the SEAT Service Centre next to the southern entrance of the Martorell factory was held, the department focused on technical support, after sales and marketing purposes, and covering the feedback and the relationship of the brand with the customers and its worldwide network. In January 2007, the operation of the SEAT Prototypes Centre of Development located in the heart of the Martorell industrial complex began, a facility inaugurated on July 16 of the same year, bringing together activities related to the virtual and physical preproduction processes of new models (prototyping, modelling, pilot product development, and series analysis), thus shortening development times for prototypes and preproduction vehicles, as well as saving costs with the use of modern technologies such as virtual simulation. In September 2023, it was announced that the SEAT brand would be eliminated on passenger cars by 2030 once the current models reach the end of their respective lifespans as a result of poor sales, with resources shifted to the stronger selling Cupra brand. However, Volkswagen did not completely rule out using the SEAT brand for another automotive role.

In 2018, the previous range topping Cupra trim was launched as a stand alone brand, alongside SEAT, and at the same time, SEAT Sport became Cupra Racing. Cupra describes itself as 'an unconventional challenger brand, based on stimulating style and contemporary performance that inspires the world from Barcelona with progressive cars and experiences. Cupra has its corporate headquarters in Martorell, Spain, and a network of specialised points of sale around the world.

SEAT's involvement in motorsports began in the 1970s with the brand's contribution to the national formula races in Spain, and by the end of the same decade, the start of its involvement in rallies. In 1971, the Special Vehicles department was formed with the mission to enforce the brand's participation in rally championships, resulting in 11 titles between 1979 and 1983. The results of this effort have been SEAT's most prestigious titles in FIA championships, three conquests with the SEAT Ibiza Kit Car in the FIA 2 Litre World Rally Cup (1996, 1997, 1998), and two times with the SEAT León in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (2008, 2009). At the second meeting of the WTCC (in Mexico), the SEAT team placed 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th and 11th in the first race. In the second race, they placed 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 8th. While SEAT may have withdrawn from the BTCC, they are showing impressive results in the WTCC.

In 2003, the SEAT Sport division presented at the Barcelona Motor Show first as a concept car and later the final version of the SEAT Cupra GT race car, which was produced in limited series on customer demand addressed to expertised individuals and racing teams willing to take part in race events. The Cupra GT was chosen as a GT race car from racing teams, like the Sunred Engineering (SunRED) team, making its debut in 2004 in the Spanish GT Championship, and took part in several Grand tourer circuits not only in Spain but also run in tracks abroad like those of Monza and Magny Cours.

In 2002, SEAT announced a one make championship for the new SEAT León Cupra R, the SEAT León Supercopa. In 1970 SEAT set up the 'Fórmula Nacional' series in Spain, a year later to be known as Formula 1430. The single seater formula cars, which took part driven by young Spanish drivers, were equipped under support from SEAT with engines of the 1430 model and 6700 gearboxes. The first race of the 'Fórmula Nacional' series took place at the Jarama circuit in Madrid.

Under Volkswagen Group's ownership, numerous SEAT models have been rebadged under other brands, either inside the Volkswagen Group's portfolio or out of it. In particular, some examples concerning the rebadges deriving from SEAT models and being carried out under other Volkswagen Group's brands, are the SEAT Ibiza Mk2 which has been rebadged under the VW brand as the VW Polo Playa, the SEAT Córdoba Mk1 rebadged as the VW Polo Classic – FAW VW City Golf – VW Derby, the SEAT Arosa as the VW Lupo, and the SEAT Inca as the VW Caddy. Further rebadges have come under non Volkswagen Group brand ranges. Some notable examples are the SEAT Ibiza Mk1, which has been rebadged as the Nanjing Yuejin Eagle NJ6400 Unique NJ6400 Soyat NJ7150 Soyat Unique NJ1020, and the SEAT Toledo Mk1 as the Chery A11 Fulwin Fengyun Windcloud – Chery A15 A168 Amulet Cowin Qiyun Flagcloud – Vortex Corda. On the other hand, several SEAT models have derived as rebadges coming from other Volkswagen Group's brands such as the SEAT Alhambra Mk1 and Mk2 respectively from the VW Sharan Mk1 and Mk2 (the first generation resulting after a joint venture of the Volkswagen Group together with Ford) and the SEAT Exeo from the Audi A4 B7.