SEAT was founded in Barcelona in 1950 as Spain’s state-backed carmaker, building Fiat-derived models under license before Volkswagen took a controlling stake in 1986. It remains Volkswagen Group’s Spanish arm, sharing platforms with other VW-family brands while keeping its own design and marketing identity.
The Ibiza and Arona are SEAT’s best-selling models in its home market. In 2018 the brand spun off Cupra as a separate performance-focused label, which has since grown into its own line-up of electrified models.