Volkswagen questions the continuity of the Seat brand beyond 2029: the parent company plans to progressively eliminate it and integrate it into its sister Cupra, as reported yesterday by the German media WirtschaftsWoche with leaked internal documents. The measure could be one of many that enter the group's global adjustment plan approved yesterday. The supervisory board – where shareholders and unions are present – gave the green light to the plan at the last minute, and unanimously, although it lacks details. In a statement released after the meeting, the need to “simplify the group structure” in general is mentioned, without details about Seat. The simplification and possible impact are pending a review that will now be carried out by the executive board and will be finalized. Yes, there was more specificity about other measures such as an extra cut of 50,000 jobs, apart from the 50,000 already underway. From Seat they indicated that the possible suppression of the brand "is not official" and that "no decision has been made."\n\nThe future of Seat has been up in the air for a long time, as the unions have been warning after years without new models and significant investments, although it had not been raised with such specificity. The growth of Cupra, which already contributes more sales and focuses investments, would support the decision. On paper it gives higher margins by going into a more expensive segment, and it is very internationalized.\n\nRelegated, Seat has ended up focusing more on combustion, a technology with an expiration date in the EU. Within the hypothetical scenario, Cupra would assume the products, sales and production structures of Seat, which employs about 13,000 people, after an “economic optimization,” the media detailed. The aim is to save costs and optimize structures. “The Seat brand will be progressively eliminated in an orderly and effective manner no later than the end of 2029,” it was detailed, citing reports approved by management that will be discussed at today's meeting. It would even have already been withdrawn from the group's 2030 plans. For the matrix, the Seat-Cupra duality does not make sense. “The gradual elimination reduces complexity and the investment burden (...) Maintaining Seat in its current format would mean an additional expenditure of resources, while strategic development within the group of core brands – where they are included – should focus more on Cupra,” it is specified. The technical service would continue.\n\nWith origins in 1950 and purchased by Volkswagen in 1986, the Seat brand has not received a new model for years, nor has it ridden the group's electric wave, which has focused on Cupra, with the Raval, the first electric vehicle manufactured in Martorell, as its most recent novelty. It is one of the pillars of the group's accessible electrification strategy. Currently, Seat manufactures the Ibiza, the Arona and the León in the Catalan plant, with a calendar that extends to 2029. Its latest variants, with hybridizations, could extend the dates somewhat, according to union sources. Cupra has been eating up ground without stopping. The brand born in 2018 has imposed itself on its older sister with higher cost models and more sporty design. In 2025, for the first time it sold more than Seat, with 328,000 units and a growth of 33%. Seat, for its part, fell 17%, to 257,400. The primacy is maintained this year. In Spain, however, Seat leads. It is the third best-seller and has the Ibiza and the Arona among the best sellers.\n\nFrom Seat they indicated that the possible end of the brand "is not something official", that it comes from leaked documents that not even the management itself has seen and that "no decision has been made." “VW is working on a business transformation plan for the entire group to strengthen its competitiveness and efficiency,” seeking to gain “agility,” it is added. The president of the Seat works council and member of the VW supervisory board, Matías Carnero, saw it as “unacceptable” that Seat could disappear, appealing to the administrations to avoid it. In statements to Efe, he called for “caution.” Rafa Guerrero, general secretary of CC.OO intercenters. At Seat, he asked for “prudence.” “If it happens, we will be radically opposed. "We see a scenario of two brands," he warned.\n\nYesterday at the last minute, the supervisory board, a decision-making body in which management, workers and shareholders are present, unanimously approved the adjustment plan proposed by the company, although with many reservations, because the specific measures and the impact by brands remain to be detailed. Broadly speaking, it is proposed to cut production by 10% to 9 million vehicles, by 50% the models by 2035, reduce the structure directive, accelerate efficiency, review investees and cut another 50,000 jobs The closure of plants was not specified, although the German plants Emden, Zwickau, Hannover and Neckarsulm are in the air from 2031 onwards.
