About Seat Cars
The company SEAT was formed in 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria with Fiat's assistance. SEAT stands for Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo otherwise known as the Spanish Saloon Car Company.
1953 saw the company produce their very first car model, this was the SEAT 1400. This car had 44 hp (33 kW) and was a four-door saloon car. It could also reach an impressive top speed of 75 mph (120 kph). Sadly in 1964 production of this model ceased but over 98,000 models had been made.
There were many different models produced in the 1960s and they included the 800, 850, 1500 and 124. Impressively 815,319 of the 800 model were produced between 1964 and 1967. In 1968 SEAT produced its one millionth car, quite a record and by 2003 this figure had increased to a staggering, more than 14 million.
Once again during the 1970s SEAT produced many cars which included the 67 hp (50 kW) 1200 model that was made between 1975 to 1980. Over 1.5 million 131 models were sold between 1974 and 1984. Other models produced during this era included the 127, 128, 132, 133 and the Ritmo. Fiat's assistance with Seat sadly ended in 1981 and they were replaced by the Volkswagen Group who together formed a cooperation agreement.
Up until 1981 SEAT cars very much resembled the Fiat models. However, In 1982 the Ronda model was the first car to be produced by SEAT without any assistance from Fiat. Other cars that were made during the 1980s included the Fura between 1981 to 86, the Panda from 1980 to 86, the Marbella from 1986 to 98 and the Malaga which was made from 1985 to 92. The Ibiza model was also made during this time and in total three generations was made between 1985 and 2007.
In 1990 SEAT became a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. During this time in the company's history, many models were made up until 2007. They included the Arosa, Leon, Cordoba, Alhambra, Toledo, and the Altea.
The company introduced in 2008 a 1.4 litre, 170 hp (127 kW) Bocanegra which was a 4th generation Ibiza car. 2008 models include the Leon Cupra, Cordoba, Toledo, Alhambra and the F Series Leon, Ibiza and Altea.
2013 was an award-winning year for SEAT and saw the launch of Leon, their five-door car quickly followed by the Leon Sports Coupe. Auto Express named the Leon 'Car of the Year 2013', with What Car? naming the Leon S 1.2 TSI as 'Best Small Family Car under £16,000'. Over 14,000 Leon models were sold during 2013. The new Leon ST Sports Tourer was introduced at the end of 2012 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production at the Martorell plant continues to produce cars and the 'SEAT al Sol' project was completed in 2013. This was where 53,000 solar panels were placed on the factory roof. SEAT today exports 80% of its production, so a whopping 355,000 vehicles in 2013.