he acronym "SEAT" means Sociedad Espanola de Automotoviles de Turismo (Spanish Corporation of Private Cars) and was founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of the Italian car giant, Fiat, with an important share owned by the Spanish Government led at that time, by the dictator, General Franco. Today, SEAT is a Volkswagen subsidiary and is one of Spain's leading car makers. Intially though, SEAT manufactured re-badged Fiat models which differed very little visually from the cars of the Italian parent. The SEAT 600, for example, was based on the Fiat 600 and was the first car for many Spanish families and became a symbol of the the economic progress that Spain was making. Fiat withdrew in 1981 and the first new car manufactured without Fiat involvement was the SEAT Ronda in 1982 - although it was essentially a restyled Fiat Ritmo. Following the Fiat withdrawal, the Volkswagen Goup signed a cooperation agreement with SEAT, becoming the major shareholder in 1986 and 100% owner of the company in 1990.
Today SEAT develops and designs its own models of cars in accordance with the the policies of the Volkwagen Group, and each year the company produces more than 450,000 cars at the SEAT plant at Martorel, one of the newest in Europe.
If you would like to test drive any of the SEAT range or would simply like to find out if there is SEAT model out there just for you, please contact our SEAT dealership - contact details are on the right.
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