SEAT UK celebrates 25th anniversary

By George Chapman

01st September 2010

Spanish car maker Seat celebrates 25 years of success in the UK this month. Arriving on UK shores in 1985 with the original Ibiza - the brand's first car to be developed entirely in-house, rather than with previous co-owner Fiat.

Following its first year sales figures of nearly 6,000 cars in 1986, Volkswagen AG bought a 51 per cent stake in Seat. Originally a franchised importer owned by Tiny Rowland’s sprawling Audi and Volkswagen Lonrho conglomerate, Seat UK went from strength to strength.

In 1990 Volkswagen completed its takeover of both Seat and UK importers Lonrho, making Seat the first of the Volkswagen AG brands in the UK to be factory owned.

By 1995 Seat UK moved to its current home in Milton Keynes and by the turn of the millennium, Seat was finding owners for over 20,000 cars in the UK.

Seat expects its best year of sales to date in 2010. Commenting on the important landmark, current boss Peter Wyhinny said, "It’s been an exciting, eventful and above all successful first 25 years for Seat in the UK."

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