SEAT Achieves Sales Record in UK

Though the recession has been seriously affecting automakers throughout 2009, car manufacturers who played their cards right had some celebrating to do at the end of the year. And SEAT was one of the happy ones.

The Spanish manufacturer owned by Volkswagen had a good year in the United Kingdom, as it managed to get its best ever market share: 1.5% as confirmed by SMMT. SEAT had great sales across its entire range, so it reached a total of 29,987 new car sales in 2009. These figures look even more impressing as the overall UK of 2009 auto market is down 6.4% at only 1.99 million new cars sold, the first sub-two million new car market since 1995.

“The achievements behind our exceptional sales successes in 2009 cannot be overstated. The economic backdrop to this record market share was, arguably, the worst in living memory and yet the appeal of the SEAT line-up has obviously shone through,” said Peter Wyhinny, Head of SEAT UK.

“The debuts last year of iconic additions to our range such as the stunning Ibiza Cupra Bocanegra ensure we continue to lead in the style stakes, too.

“Add the enduring appeal of our cars, characterised by record used car sales to the dealer network in 2009 plus consistently impressive residual values, and a strong programme of product renewal and expansion throughout the next 12 months and beyond, and despite the uncertain economic conditions you can see why we’re cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.”