SEAT’s impressive start to 2017 continues, as it ended April as the UK’s fastest-growing car brand. Against a backdrop of falling car sales, down 19.8%, SEAT bucked the trend with impressive growth of 12%.
After an equally impressive March performance which saw its UK subsidiary become its largest sales market globally for the first time, SEAT surged past several rivals in April with 3,926 registrations, including Honda and MINI, and closed the month within touching distance of both Land Rover and Renault. Overall, its performance represented an increase of 426 units compared to the same month in 2016 (3,500), while its market share rocketed from 1.85% to 2.58%. At April close, SEAT’s UK sales were up a stellar 22% compared to the first four months of the previous year. On top of that, the brand also remained the second fastest-growing car brand, behind Jaguar, in the first four months of the year.
It has several other reasons to celebrate too. The first is SEAT achieved a major milestone by breaking into the top ten true fleet manufacturers for the first time, overtaking Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall. On the back of four years of consecutive growth, its fleet team have already torn up their record books, having already secured more orders in just the four months of this year than their entire 2016 sales (9,856).
Secondly, its sizeable gains are not coming from a single model. Ateca continues to take the British market by storm. Already significantly up on SEAT’s internal sales forecasts, 841 of its multi-award-winning SUV were registered in April, taking to an impressive 3,942 year-to-date. Leading the pack still though is the New Leon range, which only launched in UK showrooms in February. Over 1,500 units of its SC, five-door and ST models found homes in April. Even with the current generation of Ibiza on run out, ahead of the July showroom launch of the brand new model, it performed strongly with 1,240. Lastly, its large MPV, Alhambra, also sold extremely well with 363 units.
Finally, the best is yet to come. Halfway through the largest product offensive in SEAT’s history, with four new models arriving in just 18 months, the UK order book for the third car, the eagerly-awaited All-New Ibiza, has just opened ahead of its showroom arrival on 21 July. Rounding off its sustainable growth plans is the firm’s first crossover, Arona, due to be unveiled soon ahead of its winter launch on these shores.
SEAT’s global results are equally strong. Between January and April this year, SEAT delivered 158,700 vehicles worldwide, an increase of 14.5% compared to the same period in 2016. The performance for April alone, with 41,400 deliveries, saw even higher growth, up 16%.
Commenting on the brand’s stellar performance so far this year, Richard Harrison, Director, SEAT UK commented, “SEAT has real momentum and in the UK, we’re really starting to realise the brand’s true potential. Every new product we’re launching is striking a chord with British car buyers, while the rest of our line-up continues to deliver strongly. The fact that we have two further top-draw cars coming soon, in All-new Ibiza and Arona, is the icing on the cake. The UK team and our dealer partners are doing a fantastic job and I can’t wait for our customers to enjoy our products even more in the months ahead.”
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*excludes small scale sports car manufacturers: Aston Martin, Lotus and Maserati, each with less than 110 registrations in April
