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I do not know if it hit the UK press that Seat has just been bailed out by the parent company VW after a narrow vote the alternative was closure, it has two years to become as profitable as Skoda or the plug will be pulled.A second item was the German Government has relinquished the law that said nobody could takeover VW and as Porshe have 34% stake a bid now is in the offing but they have uttered that they would close Seat forthwith. Watch this space.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 30/10/2007 at 18:05
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One other piece Opel workers in Germany have been gauranteed work till 2018 so they must feel confident.
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Contradicted by this report:
VW's Seat set to break even
Rob Golding
Automotive News Europe
October 29, 2007 -- 16:04 CET
Volkswagen?s Spanish subsidiary, Seat, will break-even this year, a year ahead of forecast, chief financial officer Hans Dieter Pötsch said last Friday.
In answer to a question from an analyst during the conference call for the third quarter financial results, Pötsch acknowledged that there was another small loss from Seat in the third quarter but that would be break-even by the year-end
?Despite decline in the home market, Seat?s performance has improved tremendously,? he said.
Sales for the first nine months of the year for Seat were down to 306,000 from 311,000 a year earlier. But the losses had been reduced from ?121 million to ?12 million. Thanks to richer mix, sales revenues were roughly flat.
While Seat is improved, Skoda is moving even faster having increased sales in Germany by 12.6% and is heading for a million units a year by the end of the decade ? helped by the strong demand for Roomster.
Pötsch also said that the VW group as a whole will make six million vehicles for the first time this year and a profit before tax of more than ?5.1 billion ? greater than the forecast that originally was made for 2008.
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>>six million vehicles for the first time this year and a profit before tax of more than ?5.1 billion
So a profit per car of ?850 or under £500. Scarcely seems worth the bother, does it.
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>>six million vehicles for the first time this year and a profit before tax of more than ?5.1 billion So a profit per car of ?850 or under £500. Scarcely seems worth the bother does it.
?5.1 billion profit for the group would suggest otherwise. What was the revenue??
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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SEATs problem is that too may of their cars look similar- Altea, Leon, Toledo. That and the Ibizas getting on a bit now ( on sale since 2002) as is the Alhambra (on sale since 1995 as a Galaxy). Bring out some new, distinctive cars, keep on with the BTCC success and keep plugging the whole youthful brand PR and they'll be on to a winner.
Mind you, the new Ibiza, due late 2008 looks like being a tasty piece of kit.
Currently driving: 2007 SEAT Ibiza TDi
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Ibiza-driver. I have done almost 150,000 miles in my Toledo TDiSE which I bought new near the end of 1999. It goes incredibly well and I have never had such a good and reliable car. In dark indigo blue it looks fantastic ( I give it a touch of polish occasionally). It was such a shame they brought out the awful looking new Toledo. Let's say it is an acquired taste.
I would be terribly upset if anything happened to Seat. They should bring out the nice looking Bolero.
When I lived in Sidmouth I got fantastic service from the main dealer nearby. Now since moving back to Dublin, I get wonderful service from my local Seat "platinum" dealer. The boss actually works in the workshop. he is a true expert and he and his staff are endlessly good to me. Honestly they can't let people like this disappear!!!!!
My Toledo has quantities of free extras and they all still work.
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I've owned 2 SEAT's. A Cordoba 1.6SE and a Leon 1.6 S (Mk1). Both cars were reliable, well equipped, good value and a pleasant to drive. Dealer was also good. I'm not impressed by the newer models - I would have gone for a 3rd SEAT based on my experiences but couldn't find something appropriate.
SEAT have developed a consistent family design but I agree with cattleman6 that it's meant that the cars all look the same. A few more distinctive designs and a saloon could tempt me back. Now driving a Vauxhall Vectra C - great car, awful dealer.
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C
that's a nice car but the current generation of SEATs are, in my opinion, ugly. Maybe more people share that opinion? Something is holding back sales.
JH
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Agree wholeheartedly with the ugly sentiment. My previous car was a Toledo 1.9TDI SE, bought as a nearly new ex-demonstrator, with sat nav fitted when they were still very rare as factory fitted units, and I put 140,000 faultless miles on it in a shade under 4 years. Best car I ever had - utterly reliable in every sense and packed with extras, all of which still worked and which felt as though they would for many more miles. To be honest, I probably got rid of it a year or so too early.
I would have jumped at another SEAT and really looked forward to the release of the new Toledo. When it came out, to say I was disappointed was an understatement. I tried and tried and tried again to like the styling, but just couldn't. It was ugly and far too similar as a car to the Altea.
Someone made a design statement that went very wrong with the new generation of SEAT's, and they have screwed the company big time. That design manager / director, whoever he is / was, probably made as big a mess of SEAT as Homer Simpson did of his long lost brother's car firm when he designed the next car of the people, the 'Homer'.
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Yes, the board of VAG have been forced to deny rumours of an impending sale of Seat as it's seen as a millstone round VW's neck by the financial markets.
If you want to see a car company in real trouble though, look a bit further east. Kia have reported a record loss for the second consecutive year, a 7% drop in sales and disruption through ongoing strikes. 1970s British Leyland anyone?
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Well to be honest since VAG decided to rid themselves of their smaller car, they have lost people like me as customers.
I am married, have no kids and am very happy buying a small car at a very high spec rather than buy a bigger car that I don't need at a lower spec for the same price.
I bought the Arosa 16V sport (an ex demo with 300 miles on it) as soon as I found out they were pulling the plug on the Arosa. Its a lovely car and holds its own with the Lupo GTi but much cheaper. What VAG couldn't handle was that SEAT's Arosa was actually selling better than the Lupo. They thought they could stimulate sales with the Lupo by ridding themselves of the Arosa.... Bad move, as now they have rid themselves of the Lupo and brought out the Fox which doesn't look half as nice in my opinion.
I'll keep my Sport for a long time yet as it stacks up very well against anything of the same price,engine size and spec on the market today, but when I go to buy another car in a few years I might now go to Suzuki who's Swift Sport is a great price, spec and price...and still relatively small.
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I can only speculate as to the future of SEAT but can't help wondering if VAG have overdone the badge engineering. Even as a large (by European standards) vehicle producer, can they really justify both the SEAT and the Skoda badges as well as all the other dinky toys in the box?
Skoda seems to have established a place in the European market and here in the UK their sales have incresed steadily - the overdue demise of Rover must have helped. SEAT seem to be in a less secure position.
I wonder what the comparative assembly costs are of these two brands - it's tempting to speculate that VAG can screw a Skoda together (in view of its country of origin) for less money than the equivalent SEAT. If this is indeed the case, the accountant's axe will fall.
Judging by my recent experiences of Skoda dealers, they'll go broke soon anyway unless they very quickly become technically competent, honest and stop building glass palaces for the customer to pay for. Pity - the product seems to be OK.
659.
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Read somewhere that the Skoda Yeti is going to be built in China
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I don't know how widespread this is, but there isn't a SEAT dealer in the whole of the Merseyside/Wirral/Chester/N.Wales area. They've been advertising for a dealer in Chester for years. The dealership we used in Crewe (who seem pretty good) is easy to get to from where we are, but we rarely see another SEAT around home.
When we helped oldest daughter buy an Ibiza 1.2S 3yrs ago, I thought it was pretty good value. Equivalent Polo was a lot more expensive, and on the VW remote locking was an option and so was a CD player! The Ibiza even had a/c as standard.
However I looked at Ibiza again recently and it seems *much* more expensive than we paid - the value just wasn't there.
Edited by Bill Payer on 18/11/2007 at 12:08
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I used the one in Crewe aswell to buy my new Ibiza in May. Its small, well run and was a pleasure to deal with which I think is why there are so many SEATs around these parts. It was a complete contrast to the main agent I bought my previous Ibiza from which was a complete shambles. I have now learnt though that they are to loose the franchise so its maybe just as well.
Currently driving: 2007 SEAT Ibiza TDi
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