SEAT has obtained up to 53 distinctions throughout 2017, a series of recognitions that have crowned twelve key months for the future of the carmaker and that clearly reflect the positive trend currently sweeping the company. In this sense, leading market analysts and some of the most internationally renowned organisations and publications have acknowledged SEAT’s performance in the various dimensions of its activity.
Of the more than 50 awards received by the company, ten of these stand out for their prestige and value in the industry at global level. Four of them went to SEAT President Luca de Meo for his exemplary management at the helm of the company. Under his leadership, SEAT is obtaining the best financial results in its history and is one of the fastest growing brands in Europe, an achievement that has not been overlooked by the international community.
Luca de Meo recently won the ‘Best CEO in the Sustainable Automotive Industry 2018’ award, one of the most prestigious recognitions by the global business community and which is presented by the British magazine European CEO. Likewise the Automotive News Europe magazine singled him out with the well-known ‘Eurostars Award CEO of the Year’ and the AutoRevista magazine presented him with the ‘Executive of the Year’ award. Finally, de Meo received the ‘Alumnus of the Year Award 2017’ from Bocconi University, in recognition of his creativity, ability to create value, explore and invest in new methods of management, among others.
The Martorell factory has also been one of the focal points of success this year. The company’s commitment to turning the plant into a Smart Factory, which pioneers the use of Industry 4.0 technologies, has earned it the ‘Manufacturing Excellence Award 2017’ for its high performance, and especially, for its excellent management of suppliers and internal logistics. In addition, SEAT Quality director Joaquín Serra received the ‘Leader in Quality 2017’ distinction from the European Organisation for Quality (EOQ). This organisation recognised Serra’s work as the leader of a team which is committed to promoting the digital transformation of the factory’s production processes.
The other major international distinctions were awarded for the company’s Easy Mobility strategy and for its commitment to integrating technological solutions in cars. In this sense, SEAT’s mobility strategy has recently been distinguished with the ‘World Smart City Award’ at the Smart City Expo World Congress and the ‘Best Parking Solutions’ award from The New Economy magazine.
With reference to the company’s commitment to car digitisation, experts from several European media outlets gave SEAT the ‘Smartbest 2017’ award for being the first brand to integrate the interactive voice assistant Amazon Alexa in its vehicles in Europe. In addition, Germany’s Auto Bild & Computer Bild magazine distinguished the Spanish brand with the ‘Connected Car 2017’ award within the ‘Pioneer’ category. The Axel Springer editorial group’s two leading publications, which present an award every year to the best innovations related with the connected car, acknowledged SEAT’s commitment to car digitisation after it was the first manufacturer to launch smartphone integration technology compatible with iOS (CarPlay) and Android (AndroidAuto), as well as for incorporating Amazon Alexa in series production vehicles. The brand will receive the award at the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, the benchmark consumer technology trade fair being held in Las Vegas in early January.
Highly acclaimed product offensive and finalist of ‘Car of the Year 2018’
As it is undergoing the biggest product offensive ever in its history, the brand has recently launched two new models, the Ateca and the Arona, and has revamped two classics, the Ibiza and the Leon. Extending and renewing the range have not only boosted sales by over 13% in 2017, but these efforts have also positioned SEAT as one of the fastest growing brands in Europe. This growth has also been acclaimed in the form of awards, earning the company nearly 30 distinctions from countries such as England, France, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.
In this sense, the SEAT Ateca and the new SEAT Ibiza were the recipients of the most awards, obtaining nine and eleven distinctions respectively. The SEAT Ateca won important accolades such as the ‘SUV of the Year’ award from France’s motoring magazine Auto Moto and was named best compact SUV by ‘What Car?’, the British publication specialising in the automotive industry.
Furthermore, in addition to being singled out for its spectacular design, the new generation Ibiza was short-listed for the first time in the company’s history for the prestigious ‘Car of the Year 2018’ award. SEAT’s icon also received the Axel Springer Motor publishing group’s 2017 award to the ‘Most Technological Car’. Likewise, the Alhambra received two awards, from Germany’s Auto Bild and AUTO Straßenverkehr magazines, and the Arona a further two, one from the Hearst publishing Group and the other from the Czech publication Motorvize. Finally, the magazine ‘What Car?’ awards also singled out the SEAT Leon in the category of ‘Best Buy’.
The full list of awards
- ‘What Car?’ Awards 2017 (UK): SEAT Ateca – ‘Best Small SUV’
- ‘What Car?’ Awards 2017 (UK): SEAT Leon – ‘Best buy’
- Top Employers Institute (Spain): SEAT – ‘Best company to work for in Spain’
- Barcelona City Council (Spain): SEAT – ‘Barcelona Award to the Innovative Company in Conciliation and Working Time’
- Carro do Ano (Portugal): SEAT Ateca – ‘Crystal Steering Wheel Trophy’
- Auto Bild Allard (Germany): SEAT Alhambra – ‘Leading Import in the Category All-wheel Vans’
- Auto Moto (France): SEAT Ateca – ‘SUV of the Year’
- Red Dot Awards (International): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Product Design 2017’
- Schibsted Classified Media (Spain): SEAT Ateca – Car of the Year Schibsted Motor Awards
- Association for Turkish Automotive Journalists (Turkey): SEAT Ateca – ‘Nomination Car of the Year in Turkey’
- Autocar (UK): SEAT Ateca – ‘Autocar Game Changer Award’
- Barcelona International Logistics and Handling Show (Spain): SEAT – ‘SIL Award for Efficient Logistics and Technological Innovation’
- Grupo Automoción Press (Spain): SEAT Ateca – ‘Renting and Fleet Car of the Year 2017’
- Vocento (Spain): SEAT Ateca – ‘6th Edition Mujer Hoy Motor Awards’
- Official Association of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia (Spain): SEAT – ‘Industry 4.0 Award Special Mention to People’
- Grupo CEGOS (Spain): SEAT – ‘Cegos con Equipos&Talento 2017 Award for Best Practices Category Training and Development’
- Forum Industry 4.0 (Spain): SEAT – ‘Forum Industry 4.0 Award Special Mention to People’
- Capital Humano (Spain): SEAT – ‘Capital Humano Award Special Mention to Training 4.0 in the category Training and Development Strategy’
- Eventoplus (Spain): SEAT – ‘Eventoplus Award to the Best Presence at a Trade Fair’
- Auto Express (UK): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Auto Express New Car Awards Winner’
- Automotive News Europe magazine (International): Luca de Meo – ‘Eurostars Award CEO of the Year’
- AMETIC (Spain): SEAT – ‘2017 Award for Promoting ICT in Spanish Business’
- AUTOStraßenverkehr (Germany): SEAT Alhambra – ‘Family Car of the Year 2017’
- German Design Council (Germany): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Winner Exterior Volume Brand Automotive Brand Awards 2017’
- German Design Council (Germany): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Best of Best Interior Volume Brand Automotive Brand Awards 2017’
- Parkers (UK): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Best First Car Winner Parkers New Car Awards 2018’
- Bocconi University (International): Luca de Meo – ‘Alumnus of the Year Award 2017’
- El Mundo (Spain): Francisco Javier García Sanz – ‘Automotive Personality Award 2017’
- Smart City Expo World Congress (International): SEAT – ‘World Smart City Award’
- Technical University of Berlin and the Technical University of Aachen (International): SEAT – ‘Manufacturing Excellence Award’
- AutoRevista (International): Luca de Meo – ‘Executive of the Year’
- European Organization for Quality (International): Joaquín Serra – ‘Leader of Quality 2017’
- Club Marketing Barcelona (Spain): Gabriele de Palma – ‘Marketing Leaders Awards 2017’
- Human Resources Observatory (Spain): SEAT – ‘Healthy Company Award’
- cz (Czech Republic): SEAT Arona – ‘Motorvize Fans Award 2017’
- ARBÖ (Austria): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Große Österreichische Automobilpreis Car of the Year Award 2017’
- Axel Springer (Spain): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Special Award to the most technological car at the Axel Springer Motor Awards 2017’
- German Design Council (Germany): ‘Excellent Product Design Transportation’
- AEGFA (Spain): SEAT Ateca – ‘Fleets Award 2017’
- Association of Las Palmas and Tenerife Sports Press (Spain): SEAT Arona – ‘Best Car of the Canary Islands 2018’
- APMC (Spain): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Best Car of the Year in Catalonia’
- Human Resources Observatory (Spain): SEAT – ‘Best Communication Plan at Healthy Company Awards’
- Car and Driver (Spain): SEAT Arona – ‘Best SUV of 2018’
- Auto Bild & Computer Bild (Germany): SEAT – ‘Connected Car Award 2017’
- El Vigía (Spain): SEAT – ‘Best Initiative in Logistics Quality Award’
- ABC (Spain): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Best Car of the Year 2018’
- Car and Motoring Journalists Association of Finland (Finland): SEAT Ibiza – ‘Car of the Year in Finland 2018’
- Motorsiden (Denmark): SEAT Arona – ‘Car of the Year in Denmark 2018’
- Autobest (International): SEAT – ‘Smartbest 2017’
- European CEO Magazine (International): Luca de Meo – ‘Best CEO in the Sustainable Automotive Industry 2018’
- Newspress (Spain): SEAT – ‘José Gómez Mar Award for Best Communication Plan’
- IQS (Spain): SEAT – ‘J.D. Powers IQS Silver Award European/African Excellent Manufacturing Quality of the Audi Q3’
- New Economy Magazine (International): SEAT – ‘New Economy Award Best Parking Solutions 2017’
