Volkswagen Group is preparing a major restructuring of its business, within which the historic Spanish brand SEAT may disappear. The concern's management proposes to gradually phase out the brand no later than the end of 2029, and its products, sales, and production structures will be gradually transferred to Cupra.
However, SEAT has not yet been declared closed. Company representatives emphasize that a final decision has not yet been made. The issue is to be discussed at the Volkswagen supervisory board meeting on September 3-4. The concern itself declined to comment on the content of internal documents before their consideration by the governing bodies.
SEAT is planned to be "orderly" withdrawn from business with cost optimization. At the same time, owners of already sold cars will continue to receive service, and the company's existing obligations must be fulfilled.
Cupra will become SEAT's main successor. This brand appeared in 2018, separating from SEAT's sports line, and in a few years managed to turn into an independent brand with its own model range.
It is sales figures that now speak in favor of Cupra. In 2025, it sold 328,800 cars – 32.5% more than a year earlier. SEAT's sales, on the contrary, fell by 17%, to 257,400 cars, Cupra for the first time significantly surpassed the older brand.
The difference becomes even more noticeable if you look at the model plans. SEAT retains the Ibiza, Arona, Ateca, and Leon, with most of these cars based on long-existing generations. Cupra, meanwhile, is actively receiving new models and is becoming one of the main tools of the Volkswagen Group for promoting more expensive and technologically advanced cars.
At the same time, SEAT S.A. itself as a company and production structure will not necessarily disappear. The main thing is the cessation of the SEAT brand's existence. The plant in Martorell will continue to operate, and its future is increasingly linked to Cupra and other Volkswagen Group brands.