Editing SEAT (section)

=== Establishment {{anchor|Establishment of SEAT}}===
Spain is the world's eighth-largest manufacturer of automobiles. Its car market stands among the largest in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/all-vehicles-2010-provisional.pdf |title=World motor vehicle production by country and type|access-date=2012-02-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-auto-india-set-to-be-6th-among-worlds-20-largest-car-producers/20110323.htm |title=World's 20 largest producers of cars; India 6th! - Rediff.com Business |work=Rediff.com |access-date=2012-02-05}}</ref> This, however, 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]] from 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.<ref>S. Estapé-Triay. ''State and industry in the '40s: The Spanish automobile industry''. Department of Economics and Business – Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Barcelona, 1999, p. 8-11</ref>

[[File:Classic Seat 1400. Sign.jpg|thumb|left|200px|SEAT's first emblem on a car grill]]
The lack of interest shown by the foreign firms in the weakened post-civil war Spanish market opened an opportunity for local interests.<ref>S. Estapé-Triay. ''State and industry in the '40s: The Spanish automobile industry''. Department of Economics and Business – Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Barcelona, 1999, p. 23</ref> SEAT dates its origins back to June 22, 1940, when the Spanish bank '[[Banco Sabadell|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autobild.es/reportajes/seat-kil%C3%B3metros-m%C3%A1s-cortos |title=Seat: kilómetros más cortos |publisher=Autobild.es |access-date=2012-02-05}}</ref> 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.

[[File:JoseOrtizEchagüePhotoLab.jpg|thumb|right|[[José Ortiz-Echagüe|José Ortiz-Echagüe Puertas]], SEAT's first president, was in 1976 made honorary president for life.]]
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 [[Spanish peseta|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 remodeling 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', '[[Banesto|Banco Español de Crédito (Banesto)]]', '[[Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria|Banco de Bilbao]]', '[[Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seat.co.uk/content/uk/brand/en/company/we-are-seat/1979-1950.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512141444/http://www.seat.co.uk/content/uk/brand/en/company/we-are-seat/1979-1950.html|url-status=dead|title=History Of SEAT 1950-1979|archivedate=May 12, 2015}}</ref> 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, Spain|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 privatized. 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.

[[File:06 SEAT zona franca, amb els laboratoris a la dreta.jpg|thumb|left|SEAT's Barcelona Zona Franca site and laboratories]]
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 (automobile)|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|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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Muerte de José Ortiz-Echagüe, pionero de la fotografía artística en España|url=http://elpais.com/diario/1980/09/12/cultura/337557606_850215.html|work=El País archivo 12 SEP 1980|date=11 September 1980|publisher=El País|access-date=13 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=El legado fotográfico de Ortiz-Echagüe, donado a la Universidad de Navarra|url=http://elpais.com/diario/1990/11/23/cultura/659314804_850215.html|work=El Pais archivo 23 NOV 1990|date=22 November 1990|publisher=El Pais|access-date=13 December 2012|last1=Muez|first1=Mikel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=¿Para cuándo un museo en la antigua Hispano?|url=http://www.elheraldodelhenares.es/pag/noticia.php?cual=5893|publisher=El Heraldo del Henares|access-date=13 December 2012|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402132945/http://www.elheraldodelhenares.es/pag/noticia.php?cual=5893|url-status=dead}}</ref>