Editing SEAT (section)

=== Volkswagen Group subsidiary ===
[[File:Seat Ibiza première génération - Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2014 - 004.jpg|thumb|The [[SEAT Ibiza|SEAT Ibiza Mk1]], launched in 1984, was the first model developed by SEAT as an independent company, together with [[Porsche]] and [[Karmann]].]]
In 1982, [[Carl Hahn|Dr. Carl Horst Hahn]], who had just assumed responsibility as the chairman of the Volkswagenwerk AG (Volkswagen Group), examined the opportunity of approaching SEAT after Fiat's withdrawal in his plan to expand the Volkswagen Group's operations out of Germany and turning the German group into a global force. It also followed the precedent set by other global manufacturers (such as Ford in [[Valencia]] and General Motors in [[Zaragoza]]) in setting up manufacturing operations in Spain. However, the Spanish authorities had already started talks with other foreign firms, such as [[Toyota]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/TOYOTA/SEAT/Seat/Toyota/pueden/haber/llegado/acuerdo/principio/elpepieco/19810901elpepieco_7/Tes |title=Seat y Toyota pueden haber llegado ya a un acuerdo de principio · ELPAÍS.com |newspaper=El País |date=31 August 1981 |publisher=Elpais.com |access-date=2012-02-05 }}</ref> [[Nissan]] and [[Mitsubishi Motors|Mitsubishi]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autopasion18.com/HISTORIA-SEAT.htm |title=SEAT (1950...) |publisher=Autopasion18.com |access-date=2012-02-05}}</ref> to choose a strong partner for SEAT. Hahn's interest soon resulted in industrial and commercial cooperation, as well as a license agreement with SEAT on September 30, 1982, for the production in Spain of the [[Volkswagen Passat]]-[[VW Santana|Santana]] and [[VW Polo|Polo-Derby]] models in SEAT's Zona Franca and Landaben factories, respectively<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seat.com/com/generator/su/com/SEAT/site/company/history/1989-1980/main.html |title=SEAT 1980–1990 |publisher=Seat.com |access-date=2012-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206035931/http://www.seat.com/com/generator/su/com/SEAT/site/company/history/1989-1980/main.html |archive-date=2010-12-06 }}</ref> – having thus as an effect on April 29, 1983, the ending of the [[SEAT Panda]]'s production at the Landaben assembly lines due to the need of adapting this plant to the production of the VW Polo – and eventually a partnership agreement was signed on June 16, 1983, between the two parties being represented by the president of SEAT Juan Miguel Antoñanzas and Carl Hahn on behalf of the Volkswagenwerk AG.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.seat.com/en/component/g2bridge/26/?g2_itemId=22665&option=com_g2bridge |title=SEAT&VW group partnership agreement |publisher=Media.seat.com |access-date=2012-02-05 |archive-date=2013-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815224935/http://www.seat-mediacenter.comen/component/g2bridge/26/?g2_itemId=22665&option=com_g2bridge |url-status=dead }}</ref> SEAT also gained the rights to distribute Volkswagens in Spain.<ref name=SEATint/>

SEAT launched its new Ibiza, a [[Giorgetto Giugiaro|Giugiaro]]-styled hatchback, which made use of System Porsche engines and also featured underpinnings from the [[Fiat Ritmo|Fiat Ritmo/Strada]], in 1984. It also formed the basis of the [[SEAT Málaga|Málaga]], a four-door family saloon. SEAT began expanding into markets beyond Spain's borders, including the United Kingdom, where it began selling cars in the autumn of 1985.

On June 18, 1986, after purchasing the 51% majority stake of SEAT and its share increased to 75% on December 23 of the same year, the Volkswagen Group became the major [[shareholder]] of SEAT. On December 18, 1990, the Volkswagen Group bought the remaining 25% of the company, thus making SEAT the first non-German [[wholly owned subsidiary|wholly-owned subsidiary]] of the group. Fulfilling Hahn's expectations, SEAT not only made a profit two years after Volkswagen bought a majority of its stock but also provided a low-cost manufacturing outlet for other VW models, contributing up to 15.2% of the VW group's total output in 1989, as well as an opportunity to enter the relatively unexploited (at that time) Spanish market under the SEAT, VW, and Audi names.

The gathering of the brand's main infrastructures in the greater Martorell plant area has taken place in a long process beginning back in 1975 with the opening of the SEAT technical centre,<ref>SEAT Hoy</ref> but only in 1989 was a decision made to start building a new main assembly facility next to the technical centre in Martorell, replacing the old one in Zona Franca. In that same year, the translocation of SEAT's Madrid administration offices to Barcelona began with the sale of two of the brand's assets in [[Paseo de la Castellana|La Castellana]] to be completed in 1991 with the definitive installation of SEAT's headquarters in the [[Catalonia]] region.

[[File:SEAT Toledo Sport 1992 con PackGT.jpg|thumb|left|The [[SEAT Toledo|SEAT Toledo Mk1]], launched in 1991, was the first model fully developed under Volkswagen Group's ownership.]]
The centralisation of the management, design, research and production facilities localized around the plant site was meant to serve the aim of optimising the development of new models. On February 22, 1993, [[Juan Carlos I|King Juan Carlos of Spain]] and the newly elected chairman of the Volkswagen Group [[Ferdinand Piëch|Dr. Ferdinand Piëch]] inaugurated the Martorell plant, one of the most modern and efficient car plants in Europe, using the [[Just-in-time (business)|just-in-time]] process with its suppliers' site located only 2.5&nbsp;km away. The first cars that rolled out of the Martorell plant lines were the [[SEAT Ibiza|SEAT Ibiza Mk2]] and its saloon version, the [[SEAT Córdoba|SEAT Córdoba Mk1]]. The new Ibiza was a huge success for SEAT, greatly expanding its market share, particularly in export markets.

The original planning in October 1993 to close the emblematic Zona Franca assembly plant as soon as the production of vehicles could be transferred to the more efficient Martorell plant was overturned after an arrangement between the Spanish authorities and the Volkswagen Group, according to which the Zona Franca site would continue its operations, but would be gradually turned into a site with an auxiliary role in the production process (foundry, press shop, etc.). Meanwhile, on December 23, 1993, the 'Fábrica Navarra de Automóviles, S.A. was founded as a new company to hold the management of the Landaben factory, separating any ties to SEAT in production matters, with its shares being transferred to Volkswagen in June 1994 over which, however, SEAT would regain ownership four years later in 1998.

In 1994, the design centre in [[Sitges]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libertaddigital.com/economia/seat-vende-al-ayuntamiento-de-sitges-su-centro-de-diseno-en-esta-localidad-1276272894/ |title=Seat vende al ayuntamiento de Sitges su centro de diseño en esta localidad |publisher=Libertad Digital |date=2006-02-23 |access-date=2012-02-05}}</ref> – the Spanish coastal town south of Barcelona – and the suppliers' park in Zona Franca were also inaugurated, and in the winter of the same year, SEAT's financing and leasing companies – Fiseat and Liseat – were sold to Volkswagen Financial Services AG. In 1994, SEAT, in collaboration with [[Suzuki]], manufactured a five-door prototype model of a [[city car]], internally named Rosé, aiming to replace with it the [[SEAT Marbella|Marbella]] in its range, but this model never made it through to production.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.motor16.com/pagina/Interesante/60/anos/Seat/Joyas/Seat/53/1134/1/64/0/0/2/43 |title=Interesante. 60 años de Seat |publisher=Motor16.com |access-date=2012-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315000806/http://www.motor16.com/pagina/Interesante/60/anos/Seat/Joyas/Seat/53/1134/1/64/0/0/2/43 |archive-date=2012-03-15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seatfansclub.com/2011/12/recorrido-por-la-nave-a122-parte-i.html |title=Recorrido por la NAVE A122 Parte I ~ SEATFANSCLUB |publisher=Seatfansclub.com |date=2011-12-30 |access-date=2012-02-05}}</ref>

[[File:SEAT Leon Cupra Mk1-2.jpg|thumb|left|[[SEAT León]] Mk1 Cupra R]]
The first time a SEAT model was manufactured out of Spain was in 1996, with the production of the [[SEAT Alhambra|SEAT Alhambra Mk1]] in the [[Palmela]] [[AutoEuropa]] plant in [[Portugal]]. Also, in January 1997, a non-Spanish descendant, the Belgian Pierre-Alain de Smedt, was appointed SEAT's chairman for the first time. The [[SEAT Arosa]], a three-door city hatchback, was launched in 1997, effectively replacing the Marbella, SEAT's version of the [[Fiat Panda]], which had been in production since the early 1980s.

On April 7, 1998, the Zona Franca plant marked the end of the production lifecycle of the Marbella model, signalling a historical moment for SEAT with the end of vehicle production in SEAT's oldest factory, which opened in 1953; ever since the Zona Franca plant has produced components and parts to be assembled in other locations. It also signalled the demise of SEAT's last Fiat-based model.

In March 1999, at the Geneva Motor Show, SEAT presented a modern, stylised logo, more rounded than the last one and using the silver colour on a red background, instead of the previous blue, symbolising respectively the rational and the emotional. This came shortly after the launch of the second-generation Toledo which used it as a badge and shortly before the launch of the Toledo-based [[SEAT Leon|Leon]] hatchback.

The "''auto emoción''" slogan was presented in September 2000, reflecting the brand's new youthful and sporty corporate identity, while [[SEAT Sport]], apart from its motorsport activities, would undertake the responsibility of developing SEAT's high-performance vehicles.

On July 1, 2000, [[Bernd Pischetsrieder|Dr. Bernd Peter Pischetsrieder]], the former CEO of [[BMW]], was appointed to head SEAT. In the spring of 2002, as Pischetsrieder was commissioned to chair the entire Volkswagen Group, he gave way to his German compatriot Andreas Schleef on March 7, 2002.

[[File:2011 SEAT Exeo Sport Tech CR TDi 168 2.0 Front.jpg|thumb|left|[[SEAT Exeo]], a [[badge engineering|rebadged]] [[Audi A4#B7|Audi A4 (B7)]], was the [[Flagship car|flagship model]].]]
From 2002 to 2007, SEAT formed part of the Audi Brand Group, the Volkswagen Group's automotive subdivision, consisting of Audi, SEAT and Lamborghini, which was focused on more sporty values, with the marque's product vehicles and performance being under the responsibility of the Audi brand.<ref name="C4Wauto-6671758">{{cite web |url=http://europe.autonews.com/article/20011203/ANE/112030837/volkswagens-branding-plan-takes-shape |title=Volkswagen's branding plan takes shape |work=europe.autonews.com |date=December 3, 2001 |access-date=March 19, 2014 |first=Wim Oude |last=Weernink|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140320045908/http://europe.autonews.com/article/20011203/ANE/112030837/volkswagens-branding-plan-takes-shape|archive-date=March 20, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/gb2006/content/en/Divisions/Business_Lines_and_Markets.html |title=Volkswagen Group Business Lines and Markets |publisher=Volkswagenag.com |access-date=2012-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526224457/http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/gb2006/content/en/Divisions/Business_Lines_and_Markets.html |archive-date=2012-05-26 }}</ref>

In 2006, the new SEAT corporate head office was opened in Martorell and the Martorell SEAT Design Centre superseded the Volkswagen Group Design Centre Europe at Sitges,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2002/03/list_of_holdings01.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/20011231_anteilsbesitz_e.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-10-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112051924/http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2002/03/list_of_holdings01.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/20011231_anteilsbesitz_e.pdf |archive-date=2011-01-12 }}</ref> which previously hosted the design facility jointly owned by SEAT, Volkswagen, and Audi,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sitgesmodelxxi.cat/media/51/CentreDissenySitges2.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-10-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314062933/http://www.sitgesmodelxxi.cat/media/51/CentreDissenySitges2.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-14 }}</ref> as on February 23 of the same year, an agreement over the transfer of the installations of the latter to the City of Sitges was closed, with the Martorell's Design Centre official opening eventually taking place on December 30, 2007.

On January 12, 2007, the inauguration of the building of the SEAT Service Centre next to the southern entrance of the Martorell factory was held, the department focused on technical support, after-sales and marketing purposes, and covering the feedback and the relationship of the brand with the customers and its worldwide network. In January 2007, the operation of the SEAT Prototypes Centre of Development located in the heart of the Martorell industrial complex began, a facility inaugurated on July 16 of the same year, bringing together activities related to the virtual and physical preproduction processes of new models (prototyping, modelling, pilot product development, and series analysis), thus shortening development times for prototypes and preproduction vehicles, as well as saving costs with the use of modern technologies such as virtual simulation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/gb2007/content/en/driving_ideas/innovation/keeping_gaudi_s_creative_spirit_alive.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130208235803/http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/gb2007/content/en/driving_ideas/innovation/keeping_gaudi_s_creative_spirit_alive.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-08 |title=Volkswagen Group Mit Gaudis Erben in der Ideenfabrik |publisher=Volkswagenag.com |access-date=2012-02-05 }}</ref>

SEAT entered a [[clemency]] program revealing to the Spanish [[National Commission on Markets and Competition]] the anti-competitive sharing of sales and repair information among car builders and sellers in Spain controlling 91% of the market between 2006 and 2013.
Thus SEAT and the companies in its group avoided the 2015 sanctions.<ref name="CNMC">{{cite news |title=La CNMC multa con 171 millones de euros a veintiuna empresas fabricantes y distribuidoras de marcas de automóviles en España y a dos empresas consultoras por prácticas restrictivas de la competencia {{!}} CNMC |url=https://www.cnmc.es/la-cnmc-multa-con-171-millones-de-euros-veintiuna-empresas-fabricantes-y-distribuidoras-de-marcas |work=www.cnmc.es |date=22 January 2025 |language=es-ES |quote=La investigación y sanción de estas conductas ha sido posible gracias al a la solicitud de clemencia presentada por SEAT.  SEAT, S.A. y  las empresas que forman parte del Grupo al que pertenece (Volkswagen Audi España y Porsche Ibérica) han quedado eximidos de su multa.}}</ref>