SEAT ended the year with 410,200 sales, its best result since 2007, with 30% sales growth since 2012, with the Leon being the top choice, while sales growth was also recorded in Greece.
SEAT closed 2016 with sales growth for the fourth consecutive year.
The Spanish carmaker delivered a total of 410,200 vehicles, 2.6% more than in 2015 (400,000), achieving its best result since 2007. Over the last four years, SEAT sales have increased by 27.8%, or 89,200 more vehicles than in 2013 (321,000). The new Ateca significantly boosted SEAT's sales in the year just gone. A total of 24,200 new SUVs have been sold since the new model arrived in dealerships in July 2016. Thanks to the successful launch of the Ateca, SEAT sales in the second half of 2016 increased by 5.3%.
The sales figures of the new Ateca were complemented by the strong sales growth of the Leon and Alhambra in 2016. As for the Leon, sales increased by 3.0% to 165,000 units, the best result since 1999 when the brand's best-selling model was launched. In addition, the Ibiza, having reached the end of its fourth generation, closed 2016 with 152,000 sales, slightly down from 2015 (- 0.9%).
SEAT President Luca de Meo expressed his satisfaction with the results. "The brand's aggressive product policy has just begun and for another year our performance has been positive. The launch of the Ateca enables us to face the future with optimism: it is the third pillar of the brand and has made a significant contribution to our sales." Speaking about 2017, Luca de Meo said that "with the renewed Leon, the fifth generation Ibiza and the new Arona, we set ourselves the goal of increasing our sales volume. 2017 is going to be a special year for SEAT".
320.00 sales in Western Europe
SEAT's sales in Western Europe reached 319,900 vehicles, 2.2% more than in 2015 (312,800), thanks to growth in the Austrian (+12.9%), Swedish (+31.3%) and Portuguese (+17.0%) markets. SEAT also ended the year with a positive balance in five European countries. In Germany, the brand's largest market, sales increased by 2.5% to reach 90,000 vehicles while Spain came in second place with 77,200 sales (+0.1%). The UK and France, SEAT's third and fifth largest markets, improved by 0.5% overall with 47,400 and 22,500 sales respectively while in Italy, sales increased by 3.9% with 16,500 sales.
Record sales in Turkey and Israel
Growth in Poland (+22.0%), SEAT's largest market in the region, as well as in Hungary (+11.1%), led SEAT sales in Eastern Europe to a total increase of 8.2% and 28,200 vehicles (2015: 26,100). In addition, SEAT sales increased by 3.2% in the Czech Republic, where the company achieved its best ever result.
In 2016 SEAT again broke sales records in Turkey and Israel. Turkey, the company's sixth largest market, recorded an increase of 41.7% with 19,700 sales, 5,800 more vehicles than in 2015. In Israel, SEAT sales increased by 6.2% recording 8,000 sales. In addition, in Mexico, the brand's fourth largest market, sales reached 24,500 vehicles, 1.5% more than the previous year.
In our country SEAT also moved upwards in 2016, with 1780 units and a market share of 2.3%, recording an increase of 9.7% compared to 2015 (1623 units - 2.1% share)
In 2017, SEAT's "aggressive" product policy that began with the Ateca will continue. The refreshed Leon next month will be available at showrooms, followed by the new Ibiza in the summer and then the new Arona. The launch of the Ateca has had a positive impact on the company's sales and financial results. In the first nine months of 2016 the company reported an operating profit of 137 million euros, 11 times higher than the same period last year.
