Today’s Morning Dump headline is having a little fun with pronouns. Specifically, the pronoun “you” as in you might not be able to buy new cars from certain brands. There are many reasons for this. The brands could completely vanish or, short of that, could restrict themselves to certain markets.
In the category of brands that might simply not exist is SEAT, the Spanish brand that created a sub-brand that is now more important than the original. In the category of brand that may not exist in a specific market, I am going to place Maserati, which is rumored to be selling basically zero cars regularly in certain parts of the country.
Porsche will, one hopes, always exist, but the whole idea of European brands exporting electric vehicles to China seems remote, as sales numbers show how little demand there is. Which European brand will be the next one to completely bail on China?
It’s official that Volkswagen has a new boss in the United States, but will he oversee the addition of a brand or the removal of one?
SEAT Is Allegedly On The Chopping Block
Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, or SEAT, is not a brand you probably often think about if you don’t spend a lot of time in Europe. It’s a Spanish car company that got its start primarily making cars with partner Fiat. In the ’80s, SEAT and Fiat had a little disagreement, leading Volkswagen to step in and eventually take a controlling interest in the company.
Curiously, the Barcelona-based carmaker launched a racing trim of its Ibiza model called Cupra (for Cup Racing), which eventually expanded to other models and became its own standalone brand. The brand produces an attractive mix of cars, and announced an intention to come to the United States. That was a pre-tariff decision, so who knows now, but all the interest in VW’s Spanish arm has been generated by Cupra. In fact, through the first half of the year, Cupra is outselling SEAT by a large margin.
Why have both? As we’ve discussed, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume wants to cut 50% of all models, which means reducing a lot of derivatives. Why not just cut an entire brand that probably doesn’t need to exist anymore? According to Autocar, that’s kind of the thinking right now in Wolfsburg:
For Volkswagen, maintaining two Spanish brands increasingly means spending money developing, marketing and distributing cars that often compete for the same customers.
This duplication is particularly difficult to justify as the Volkswagen Group embarks on its biggest restructuring programme in decades under CEO Oliver Blume.
According to internal documents cited by Germany’s Bild newspaper, the Volkswagen Group’s reasoning is explicit: continuing Seat in its present form would require additional resources while strategic development within the brand group is to be focused on Cupra.
There are a lot of attractive and interesting SEAT models, so the loss of the SEAT brand would be a loss for enthusiasts. Can Volkswagen continue to afford to make SEATs? That’s a harder question to answer.
How Long Will Stellantis Keep Maserati?
Above is the trailer for the Maserati movie, Maserati: The Brothers, the third film in the “movies about Italian carmakers” series from the producer of Ferrari and Lamborghini. My only hope is that LaForza is next. There’s some extreme acting firepower in the is movie: Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia. Also, Jessica Alba is in it.
Will this renew interest in the fledgling marque? When Maserati and Ferrari were linked, the brand had a good run of new vehicles and renewed prestige. After Ferrari peaced out and became its own separate company, the case for the brand became a little harder. With sales falling dramatically every year, I keep thinking the company is going to get sold, and then Stellantis leadership comes out and says “there’s no plan to sell Maserati.”
Maserati doesn’t seem to charge enough to maintain its existence on selling anything under 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles a year. The company sold fewer than 8,000 cars last year. According to a post from Car Dealership Guy, Maserati dealers are struggling:
OVERHEARD:
“60 of the 86 Maserati dealers in the US have not reported a single sale this month.
13 have 1 sale.
Only 4 have sold more than 2.”
Maserati doesn’t report sales in the traditional way, and since January of this year its sales are just reported in consolidated shipments, so there’s no way to break out monthly sales. This does seem consistent with what we’ve seen dealers offering to get cars off the lot.
A new plan for Maserati is going to be announced at the end of this year, and I wouldn’t be totally surprised to hear that the brand is going to be pulled from some markets.
Imports Of Electric Cars To China Drop 99% From Peak
I love a Porsche Taycan, and if I could charge a used EV I’d definitely consider picking one of these up. If I lived in China, there’s no way in hell I’d buy a non-Chinese-produced electric car. They’re too expensive and Chinese automakers (and Tesla) are offering deals that are simply too good.
The latest numbers from the China Passenger Car Association confirm that Chinese consumers feel the same way.
China imported just four battery-electric passenger cars per day in July, the sharpest decline yet in a market that once relied heavily on European luxury EVs.
The 125 vehicles that crossed the border in July represent a 99 percent drop from the 2023 peak, as China’s booming domestic production makes imports virtually obsolete.
Battery-electric imports peaked at 30,124 vehicles in 2023 before plunging to 16,768 in 2024 and just 3,475 in the first seven months of this year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
If you want to know why European automakers are looking to cut production in Europe, this is why. After being able to export cars en masse to China, brands are either localizing production (BMW builds all its EVs for the market in China), or getting out entirely. I could see more brands joining Škoda, which is leaving the market this year, following both Polestar and Renault.
Meet VW’s New American Head Honcho
Confirming what we’ve known for about a month, inveterate wall-leaner Marco Schubert is going to be the new head of all of Volkswagen Group’s operations in the key North American market, replacing Kjell Gruner, who was one of the car execs of all time.
Here’s VW CEO Oliver Blume on the change:
“I am delighted that, in appointing Marco Schubert, we have gained a sales professional with a wealth of international experience to serve on the Extended Executive Committee of the Volkswagen Group for the North America region. With him, we will intensify our commitment in the most important growth market for the Volkswagen Group. In his Group function, Marco Schubert has successfully aligned Sales at Volkswagen Group across the brands and set central strategic courses for the future. Leveraging his expertise and profound understanding of customers and markets, he will play a pivotal role in driving the strategic and organisational transformation of our company across North America.
This, of course, has set up a musical chairs situation at the company, with Martin Sander replacing Schubert as head of Audi sales, Martin Jahn replacing him, Martina Biene replacing Jahn, and Christiane Zorn replacing Biene.
Schubert has a tough road ahead. What’s the point of Volkswagen? How is he going to balance Scout and Rivian (technically, both are independent companies, but c’mon)? What’s he going to do with Audi? Porsche? It’s a hard gig.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
I love a music video that’s a little film, and “Fancy” by Reba McEntire as her alter ego, Fancy Ray Baker, is one of the best. I always forget it’s actually cover.
The Big Question
Do you have a favorite SEAT? If so, what is it?
Top photo: Seat, Maserati, Porsche
I never understood the point of SEAT and was even more confused when they spun off Cupra. As a yank interested in Czech(oslavak) history and who got to experience Prague in 1990, I’ve always been partial to Skoda. Handsome and sensible cars, and I look forward to seeing some in a few weeks on my annual 2-week vaca.
SEAT Tango which is a small cute roadster, a concept car i loved so much first time i saw the photos in a magazine, i wish the put it in production.
Also SEAT Leon Mk1, designed by Giugiaro, it’s based on VW Golf but i think it have a better design and it was cheaper.
The last time was in Italy (ok, the only time I was in Italy), my uncle had a rental Cupra. I had a Lancia Ypsilon. My Lancia was a pile of dogshit. That Cupra, on the other hand, was really nice. A step above the GTI that (I think) it was based on.
It is sad to see SEAT go away. In Spain it was essentially the only brand available to the average José for many years.
And still, they were able to pull off some fun stuff. For a favorite, just google the SEAT Bocanegra.
Well it certainly lives up to its name haha.
Quoting this out of context just because it’s fun.
Now I really want to know which 4. I assume one is in Miami.
No, but I do have a favorite Fancy, and I think we all know who it is.
“No, but I do have a favorite Fancy…”
Bobby Gentry?
Because she’s the one who wrote and released the song in 1969.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=580280805178465
(My parents took me to see her in concert at the Music Circus in Sacramento in 1970)
*Fancy Kristen has joined the chat, and she does not look pleased*
Do you have a favorite SEAT? If so, what is it?
I’m rather partial to my IKEA POÄNG chair and ottoman.
“How Long Will Stellantis Keep Maserati?”
Personally I think they should keep Maserati as it doesn’t overlap with anything else they have.
They should ditch a lot of overlapping brands they have in many markets.. particularly in the EU. Opel, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat… way too much overlap between these 5. They should maybe have at most 2-3 of these in any given market… but preferably only 1.
And they should kill off DS as a separate brand put it back to be a top-of-the-line model under Citroen.
And while they’re at it, they should kill Ram as a separate brand and put it back to being a model name under Dodge.
“Do you have a favorite SEAT?”
Nope. Shut the brand down and sell off the name. Other brand names they’re doing nothing with and should sell off are Auto Union, DKW, Horch, NSU and Wanderer.
I wish there was a global “use it or lose it” law that large companies were forced to follow to prevent them from hoarding brands and intellectual property that they do nothing with and will NEVER do anything with.
To me Alfa Romeo and Maserati overlap. Agree on the other overlaps. Like VW Stellantis could ditch 50% of their brands and still have too many.
“Nope. Shut the brand down and sell off the name. Other brand names they’re doing nothing with and should sell off are Auto Union, DKW, Horch, NSU and Wanderer. “
Scout enters the conversation. But why, really why are they doing that too?
True.. but in theory, Scout can bring something to the table that none of the other VAG group brands have… a brand with an American identity that is truck/SUV focused.
In theory, Scout would only become redundant if VAG ends up buying Rivian.
And as a Rivian shareholder, if VAG buys them, it should be good for me as buyouts usually involve paying a premium for the shares.
What’s the point of Volkswagen?
It’s literally the name; making cars for the people. And less so to offset the emissions and fuel economy sins of both Porsche and Audi (unless Scout and Rivian manage it).
How is he going to balance Scout and Rivian (technically, both are independent companies, but c’mon)?
I expect he same way GM balances GMC and Chevrolet trucks.
What’s he going to do with Audi? Porsche?
Make driver oriented vehicles with a reputation for low NVH and high reliability for people who actually want to drive rather than instagram from rolling nightclubs.
It’s a hard gig.
With a huge compensation package and a golden parachute waiting. That makes up for a lot of “hard” in any gig.
“With a huge compensation package and a golden parachute waiting. That makes up for a lot of “hard” in any gig.”
Can I sign up for your newsletter?
Following me is but a click away.
Yeah I hate it when C-level execs talk about how ‘hard’ their jobs are. As if it’s comparable to some truly hard jobs like mining, being a firefighter, a construction worker or being a Private Conscriptovitch in the Russian army.
Or being a mom. I hear THAT is the hardest job of all:
https://www.fabworkingmomlife.com/is-being-a-mom-the-hardest-job/
nevermind that its a full WFH gig with a uniform of comfy slippers and PJs
(eyeroll in 3…2…1…)
“(eyeroll in 3…2…1…)”
Yeah my eyes are rolling… as are other male friends of mine with kids who have taken paternity leave.
I can see it being hard with a child with some sort of extreme disability. But for someone just looking after one reasonably healthy kid, I found it to be easy and working at an actual job is harder.
Gotta say that I don’t personally know any moms, even moms with multiple kids who buy into that crap. I’m sure if asked they’d roll their eyes too.
I only knew of one mom who did and that was Peggy Bundy. But she was a character on a TV show so she doesn’t count.
“Gotta say that I don’t personally know any moms, even moms with multiple kids who buy into that crap.”
I’ve encountered a couple of them. One of them was the wife of one of my closest friends.
She was trying to convince me that I should convince my friend that she should just stay home with the kids because it’s such a tough job.
Note that they had a big mortgage and my friend was/is working 2 jobs.
I told her “Yeah… maybe after you have your mortgage paid off, an (name of friend) doesn’t have to work a 2nd job anymore, you can just stay home”
Saying that shut her BS down pretty fast. Told my friend of the shit she was trying to pull and told him to not back down on her going back to work.
She’s back at work now. LOL
Agreed. IMO this myth is likely a self congratulatory fantasy perpetuated by moms who use child rearing as a get out of jail card from the labor market.
Probably I’d guess being a Russian soldier in Ukraine is more enjoyable and predictable than trying to run Volkswagen at the moment.
I doubt it. For one thing, the risk of dismemberment or death is far lower. And the golden parachute at the end of the ‘contract’ is way better.
Plus the drinks at the CEO club are way better than whatever bunker fuel those conscripts are swilling.
Favorite seat is the one Im sitting on. Ba dump dump
As an american I’ll admit most of what I know about SEAT/Cupra comes from playing Gran Turismo but I didn’t understand the rationale of separating out the Cupra brand as unique instead of just continuing to make hot versions of SEATs with the Cupra name attached-a la BMW M? This just seemed like counter to what nearly every other carmaker was doing in consolidating down the number of brands they have.
“This just seemed like counter to what nearly every other carmaker was doing in consolidating down the number of brands they have.”
Except China – which spits out new brands the way your cousin spits watermelon seeds at the family summer BBQ.
And we all know how most automakers have been trying to make themselves more Chinese-like these past few years.
Yeh but I guess my point was and I haven’t followed the Chinese market closely enough to know: GM has cut down its number of brands but all one OE, so has Chrysler (now Stellantis), Toyota cut Scion for a few examples. Is the proliferation of Chinese brands sub-brands like the above or an insane number of new startups making EVs since they have a lower barrier to entry vs ICE cars?
New brands of existing automakers.
This just seemed like counter to what nearly every other carmaker was doing in consolidating down the number of brands they have.
That’s VW in a nutshell. The problem is they believe the reason is that they are more intelligent than the others when the opposite is true.
It would be massively unfair to blame Oliver Blume for all of VW’s mistakes, but he is currently doubling down on them with an arrogance that makes my blood boil.
Dark times indeed when we need to rely on Niedersachsen’s governor Olaf Lies (not worth looking up) to be the white knight to save VW.
Just to clarify, the governor’s name rhymes with “peace”. He probably wouldn’t have run for office in an English-speaking country.
And he sells the beer coasters from his town hall meetings with the even more unfortunate motto “Lies live”.
https://shop.spd.de/bierdeckel-lies-live-auf-ein-wort-niedersachsen/a105670
Ha, appreciate the clarification, I took some German in college so I figured it wasn’t pronounced like the English word, though I still laughed when I read it.
As a native english speaker “Lies Live” is a hilariously bad political slogan-to your point. Of course the English pronunciation might as well be the slogan for the current US government 🙁
A transformer badge and copper accenting goes a long way. Group I work for took up Cupra and they have been going gangbusters / eating up a lot of our Audi customer base. Formentor (pre facelift) imo is one of the best looking modern cars even if they only come in really boring colours.
Interesting, it’s a pretty cool looking car. It’s sort of funny it’s a very aggressive sounding name that reminds of the word “Foment” maybe this was on purpose?
That song – I love it with a passion!
“CEO… wants to cut 50% of all models.” They’re flailing. In 2024-25, part of the plan to save Volkswagen was to add models. Specifically, for the US and 11(!) new models in China. Today it’s, ‘we thought X would save the company, and invested billions in that, but have decided to scrap X and try not-X instead.’
Seems like VW is still suffering from the illusion that they can compete in volume-segments, like midsize crossovers in the US or EVs in China. Maybe they need to invest in segments where they have an actual chance, like… oh, I dunno… affordable, fun small cars. Have they ever tried that? Could be good at it!
Adding VW models and cutting VW Group models can happen at the same time. So many of the models are just derivatives of the core VW model.
VW needs to learn from GM and cut their redundant brands before bankruptcy forces the issue.
TBQ: The SEAT Leon I rented in Cologne and drove across the Autobahn to Munich. Official top speed was 200 km/h but I got it up to 205 on a downhill stretch.
I feel like Audi always had a good niche, if it wasn’t for Volkswagen having been dead-set on occupying the exact same niche. And the SEAT and Skoda try to do more or less the same upscale move, it all became quite absurd.
Editorially, I’m confused by (paraphrasing) “SEAT is a Spanish company that started out building cars with its partner Fiat.”
“SEAT” is presented in all caps because it is an acronym. Fair enough. The “Fiat” name is presented in the usual case, even though it too is an acronym, representing Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.
Can someone help me understand why the two acronym-based brands are stylized differently?
Mainly because SEAT insists on it, although it may also be to avoid reading it as “seat”. There are dozens of Spanish WP editors who are laser-focused on capitalizing SEAT and arguing about it. They also spend a lot of effort trying to set up separate articles on the various Seat rebadgings like the 127 and the 131. Very tiresome.
The only decent 131 was driven by Walter Röhrl. And that was the FIAT one.
There are some pretty decent 131s in Cuba too.
…in comparison with everything else down there.
I would have Photoshopped that Toledo to read Todeloo 😀
My favourite SEATs are the ones that also came as FIATs: Panda (Marbella) – and the 124 with a peppy Twincam and some hot wheels.
I would like to mention the SEATs inhabiting the uncanny valley of not-quite FIATs. The four-door versions of the 600 and the 850, the 133 and the original Bocanegra come to mind. If we’re generous, the Marbella and the Ronda (which was a POS, to be fair) belong to this category, too.
My parents rented a roofless SEAT Pandita (by Emelba, I presume) on the Canary Islands back in the late 1980s. Would love to have that one, although some of the welds on the rollbar had come apart…
The Panda/Marbella’s two sunroofs were brilliant! The rear passenger(s) could stand up in the rear seat, holding the crossbar between them, like some kind of general or pope 😀
Yeah, like other “second hand” FIAT builders (Zastava, Lada, FSO) they didn’t really have any remarkable own models: I consider the (first) Ibiza a “nice try”, like the Yugo, Samara or Polonez.
And later they just made cheap VWs, I though Skoda did that?
So maybe it’s time to say goodbye. They still have the Cupra brand, for people with short fuses, who can’t afford a BMW.
And just like with the Samara, SEAT involved Porsche in the design.
Yep, the overlap with Skoda was always confusing. I guess they were supposed to be cheap but with passion, while Skoda was cheap and dour? Of course, all the brands mainly contested for Audi’s position, which explains some of VW’s current troubles.
Maserati sales strategy in the U.S. could be greatly improved primarily by putting the price that the car will actually sell for (after it has been on the dealer lot for months on end) on the car at the beginning. These cars are kinda like BMWs, but are priced higher than Porsches. Drop the sticker price 20%, drop the low-end powerplant options (I think they already did this on the Grecale) and make the deal more of one where you can be the neighborhood eccentric and not the neighborhood fool.
He’s here to buttress sales as well as walls.
They’re not selling Maserati because nobody would buy it, I guess.
Nobody is buying individual Maserati why would anyone want the whole company.
The worst part would be taking it back to the Stellantis dealership every time it broke down.
I think my favorite seat is a barstool.
Oof. Harsh.
Ahhh. Fancy, one of my favorite songs about childhood sex trafficking.
In the song she was 18? Barely legal? Yes, but a consenting adult in the eyes of the law nonetheless.
Not to mention that the age of consent laws in the South back then were often MUCH lower…
Mama wasn’t all bad, not as bad as she could have been, I guess.
Maserati the band is good.
Maserati the brand is unnecessary.
How many dipshit cars for rich assholes can the world sustain?
*looks at Luce sales*
A lot, it turns out.
I’ll take my SEAT Leon Sportstourer in “Desire Red” or “Magnetic Tech” please.
Oooo, that’s a great looking car.
No lie, my eyebrow involuntarily went up when I saw the front 1/4 photo
100% Yes
Ooo I would drive that.
Guessing it’s similar under the skin to my MQB car pick from the other day Skoda Octavia vRs
Having rented an equivalent Seat and Skoda, the Skoda would be a far nicer choice.
Good to know! Might be going to Germany this fall and was eyeing rentals, I saw a few Skodas though don’t remember any SEATs being avaible.
I’d absolutely choose one again. The interior was pretty impressive for its class, very quiet and comfortable. I’d put it at the top of our Euro rentals with the Alfa Giulietta turbodiesel.
That looks nice as well, another one I was unfamiliar with. I first saw the Leon, in red and charging, a few doors down from our Air B&B on a trip to France earlier this year. Very sharp car in person. Embarrassed my daughter a bit more each time I stopped to gawk when we’d pass by.
Lol so many good looking wagons in Europe
The problem with SEAT now is that they’ve taken all the interesting models and called them CUPRA.
It would be like taking all the interesting models from VW and selling them under the GTI brand.
I still have a fondness for the SEAT Leon – it’s a more interesting proposition to me than the Golf/GTI
As far as Maserati goes: Things may be rough, but they’re still doing better than Jaguar.
Or taking all the Dodges that people buy and calling them Rams!