SEAT launches Leon in mexico to consolidate increased sales

• New Leon goes on sale in Mexico, set to boost SEAT’s international growth
• SEAT singles out Mexico as key country in its expansion plan
• SEAT’s global sales grow 20.5% in April 2013, compared to April 2012
• Spanish company experiencing sharp growth in numerous countries
• SEAT UK sales up 9% so far in 2013

SEAT has officially launched the new Leon in Mexico, a move that will strengthen the Spanish brand’s strategy for international growth and profitability.

The market introduction of the car, in June, will consolidate SEAT among the ten best-selling brands in the North American country, after growing 60% over the past two years.

SEAT has already grown by 8.5% in Mexico during the first four months of 2013, having registered 7,360 vehicles – making it the ninth best-selling brand in the country.

In 2010, SEAT recorded a share of 1.7% in passenger car retail sales in Mexico, selling 13,380 units. That number grew to 18,115 in 2011, and rose further to 21,114 last year, showing a pattern of consistent growth for the brand in the vital territory that is set to continue. SEAT has a network of fifty dealerships in the country, which will increase over the next few months.

These numbers make Mexico SEAT’s sixth most important market, and the second most important outside Europe, after Algeria. For the sector as a whole, Mexico is the world’s fifteenth most important automotive market, and the third most important in the Americas, behind the US and Brazil. In 2012, Mexican car sales were close on the one million mark.

The success of the Ibiza in Mexico is unprecedented, and SEAT wants to repeat that success with the new Leon, more than 25,000 units of which have been sold in Europe in less than six months.

The five-door Leon will go on sale in Mexico in June, with the SC following towards the end of 2013. Both models will be built at the Barcelona Martorell production plant. In Mexico, SEAT currently exports the three- and five-door versions of the Ibiza, the Altea XL and Altea Freetrack, the new Toledo and, to date, the second-generation Leon.

“We are delighted at the way the brand has been moving,” says Edgar Estrada, head of SEAT in Mexico. “We are confident that the strength of the new Leon will help us continue to grow in Mexico. Our commercial offer is renewed with the Leon, which enables enjoyment of the latest technology and offers great value for money,” he adds.

SEAT sales grow 20.5% in April

SEAT exports 83% of its total car production and is present in 77 countries – a fact that enabled it to grow worldwide by 11.5% between January and April 2013, compared with the same period last year. In April SEAT sold 30,058 vehicles globally, 20.5% more than in the same month in 2012.

In Germany, the company’s main market, SEAT sales have grown by 30.6% so far this year, reaching a figure of 23,702 vehicles. In Spain the brand has delivered 22,356 vehicles (+10.7%), with another 14,784 in the UK (+9.0%). The company has also seen strong growth outside Europe during the same period, with 7,822 vehicles sold in Algeria (+137.6%), 2,126 in Turkey (+111.1%), and 1,217 in Russia (+310.5%).

SEAT UK enjoys record-breaking April

SEAT UK registered 3,983 sales in April – more than in any other April in the history of the company, and a 33% improvement on the same month in 2012. This number eclipses the 14.8% overall UK market growth in April.

Within those sales, SEAT doubled its corporate and retail order take compared to April 2012, which is a strong indicator that SEAT’s range has more showroom appeal than ever.

April’s sales total means that SEAT is currently on course for a record-breaking market share in 2013, significantly higher than the record 1.9% it achieved in 2012.

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SEAT is a Spanish motor company and member of the Volkswagen Group. It employs more than 14,000 people worldwide and offers a broad range of cars: Mii, Ibiza, Ibiza SC, Ibiza ST, Toledo, Leon, Leon SC, Altea, Altea XL, and Alhambra. Each combines the best German engineering with a distinct Spanish design theme, imbuing every one with a unique character.

The firm began its UK operations in September 1985, registering 24 cars in its first month, and 405 for the year. That number soon grew to more than 10,000 by 1988. A decade later it was 18,500-plus, and by the year 2000 SEAT was selling upwards of 20,000 cars in the UK. In 2013, SEAT is on course to break the 40,000 barrier for the first time in its history.

SEAT UK enjoyed a record-breaking year for sales in 2012 – its best since the brand was introduced in the country. In total, 38,798 cars reached new owners, representing a 1.9% market share – both figures that eclipse those of 2011, itself a record year for the company. In fact, since 2008 SEAT has defied the economic climate by registering year-on-year sales volume and market share increases. SEAT is a company on the rise.

The word SEAT is an acronym of the original company name: Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, and is therefore written in block capitals. SEAT was founded on 9 May 1950 with production of its first vehicle, the 1400, beginning in 1953. The 600 model, launched in 1957, is the car credited with putting Spain on wheels. So successful was it that sales hit one million by 1968. Volkswagen bought 51% of the company’s shares in 1986, taking a 99.9% share in 1990.

SEAT’s production is concentrated at the ultra-modern Martorell plant, near Barcelona, which in February 2013 celebrated its 20th anniversary. The company also has a major research and development facility – the Martorell Technical Centre – in which around 1,250 highly qualified staff work. And, in 2007, SEAT opened both a new centralised Design Centre and cutting-edge Prototype Development Centre at Martorell, bringing its entire production process together in one city.

SEAT has a proud history of international motorsport success, most recently claiming back-to-back driver and manufacturer titles in the 2008 and 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championships. SEAT Sport secured these prestigious successes via its mould-breaking Leon 2.0 TDI – the first diesel car to win races in both the BTCC and WTCC.