Why are the VW Group pushing SEAT so hard?

jetsonx · 18-02-2019 07:08PM #1

Why are VW Group pushing the SEAT brand so hard?

A lot of businesses fear "sales cannibalisation" like it was the plague, yet Volkswagen seem to be pushing the SEAT brand as if their life depended on it.

I always thought the purpose of them acquiring SEAT was if a customer was about to walk out of a VW showroom suffering from sticker shock...the salesperson could always say "don't go...have you thought about SEAT?"

Anyone have any theories on this?

ShadowHearth · 18-02-2019 07:16PM

jetsonx wrote: »

Why are VW Group pushing the SEAT brand so hard?

A lot of businesses fear "sales cannibalisation" like it was the plague, yet Volkswagen seem to be pushing the SEAT brand as if their life depended on it.

I always thought the purpose of them acquiring SEAT was if a customer was about to walk out of a VW showroom suffering from sticker shock...the salesperson could always say "don't go...have you thought about SEAT?"

Anyone have any theories on this?

I don't know about VW pushing Seat, but Seats are pretty damn good cars. They are now, what Skoda was good few years ago. Same VW parts, but cheaper.

I own Seat that I bought brand new and considering picking up Ex demo 182 Leon right now. The value and spec you get for the money is unreal. And if you ask me, I much prefer Seats styling in current generation then Skoda and VW.

mickdw · 18-02-2019 09:11PM

I think they see Seat as away to grab further market share. It would appear at the minute that you cannot have too many variations of suv to offer so with the likes of kia and hyundai and even peugeot selling well, having a range of models across all prices will mean they are more likely to take sales off other brands than themselves.

Eric Cartman · 18-02-2019 09:19PM

seat is there to compete with the ultra low price brands like dacia, its a way to take market share back in the 'any car with a new reg plate' segment.

jetsonx · 18-02-2019 09:58PM

mickdw wrote: »

I think they see Seat as away to grab further market share. It would appear at the minute that you cannot have too many variations of suv to offer so with the likes of kia and hyundai and even peugeot selling well, having a range of models across all prices will mean they are more likely to take sales off other brands than themselves.

I was kinda of guessing this as a possible explanation...VW saying "lets throw everything at the SUV segment" entering two horses into the race instead of just one.

Eric Cartman · 18-02-2019 10:02PM

jetsonx wrote: »

I was kinda of guessing this as a possible explanation...VW saying "lets throw everything at the SUV segment" entering two horses into the race instead of just one.

well they have the ateca , kodiaq and tiguan to appeal to basically the same customer but in 3 different price brackets.

grogi · 18-02-2019 10:11PM

Eric Cartman wrote: »

seat is there to compete with the ultra low price brands like dacia, its a way to take market share back in the 'any car with a new reg plate' segment.

No, it is not.

Seat with its Spanish heritage is generally positioned as a brand for young, energetic people with a bit of sporty note. In general VAG does not have a great strategy for this brand, but by no means it competes with Dacia...

Skoda is what VW used to be - a no nonsense auto, without much thrills. But sometimes the Czech surprise the overlords and release forms like a Superb...

jetsonx · 18-02-2019 10:13PM

Eric Cartman wrote: »

well they have the ateca , kodiaq and tiguan to appeal to basically the same customer but in 3 different price brackets.

So one for an Irish Mirror reader, one for and Irish Independent reader and another for an Irish Times reader....

mickdw · 18-02-2019 10:13PM

I cannot even name all the models they now have across all their brands... it's quite a big line up. To me, the tiguan seems to be over priced at over 40k for a highline 2.0 tdi so they certainly need their lower tier brands to keep people away from the Koreans.

grogi · 18-02-2019 10:14PM

Eric Cartman wrote: »

well they have the ateca , kodiaq and tiguan to appeal to basically the same customer but in 3 different price brackets.

Again, Kodiaq and Tiguan are not "the same" car. Kodiaq is much bigger...

jetsonx · 18-02-2019 10:15PM

grogi wrote: »

No, it is not.

Skoda is what VW used to be - a no nonsense auto, without much thrills. But sometimes the Czech surprise the overlords and release forms like a Superb...

Interesting...where are VW now in this segment then?

Eric Cartman · 18-02-2019 10:21PM

grogi wrote: »

Again, Kodiaq and Tiguan are not "the same" car. Kodiaq is much bigger...

its not much bigger , the kodiaq certainly isnt competing against the touareg. Its a crossover.

18-02-2019 10:22PM

Eric Cartman wrote: »

well they have the ateca , kodiaq and tiguan to appeal to basically the same customer but in 3 different price brackets.

The Karoq is the one that fits in with the ateca and Tiguan. The Kodiaq is far bigger.

Eric Cartman · 18-02-2019 10:28PM

theres so many fauxby4s its hard to know anymore.

ShadowHearth · 18-02-2019 10:30PM

I think we will need measuring tape and spreadsheet to figure out where each SUV stands in VW group. For the love of feck, all of them have 3-4 variations already and making more!

18-02-2019 10:32PM

OSI wrote: »

Kodiaq is in between the size of a regular Tiguan and a Tiguan AllSpace.

Kodiaq is bigger than any of the Tiguans. It’s only slightly smaller overall than then previous model Touareg and actually has a larger interior.

grogi · 18-02-2019 10:33PM

jetsonx wrote: »

Interesting...where are VW now in this segment then?

Above Skoda and below Audi. VW would be better finished than corresponding Skoda, be more polished.

Eric Cartman · 18-02-2019 10:34PM

Moses Sweet Stink wrote: »

Kodiaq is bigger than any of the Tiguans. It’s only slightly smaller overall than then previous model Touareg and actually has a larger interior.

but its still a soft roader with a small engine, its probably the biggest in the crossover section but it doesnt quite enter the real 4x4 arena. kind of a poor mans X5 if you will.

For Forks Sake · 19-02-2019 12:33AM

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I think we will need measuring tape and spreadsheet to figure out where each SUV stands in VW group. For the love of feck, all of them have 3-4 variations already and making more!

Small:
Seat Arona-VW T-Roc-Audi Q2/Q3 - isn't there a small Skoda on the way as well?

Medium:
Seat Ateca/Skoda Karoq/VW Tiguain/Audi Q5

Large
Seat Taracco/Skoda Kodiaq/VW Tourag/Audi Q7

Stupidly Large and Ugly:
Audi Q8

Eric Cartman · 19-02-2019 12:35AM

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Small:
Seat Arona-VW T-Roc-Audi Q2/Q3 - isn't there a small Skoda on the way as well?

Medium:
Seat Ateca/Skoda Karoq/VW Tiguain/Audi Q5

Large
Seat Taracco/Skoda Kodiaq/VW Tourag/Audi Q7

Stupidly Large and Ugly:
Audi Q8

the touareg / q7 are in a category above the other 2 , the q8 is a funny one as its footprint is q7 sized but its a smaller body thats more sporty and competes as such with the range rover sport and the bmw x6.

screamer · 19-02-2019 12:37AM

Dunno, but I’d take a seat over a boring vw anyway. I much prefer the styling and the poke that seats have, which vw don’t bring honest, and the extras that are included with seat that vw charge you mightily for, plus of course the historic link with old Adolph, I’d rather a seat any day.

For Forks Sake · 19-02-2019 01:05AM

Eric Cartman wrote: »

the touareg / q7 are in a category above the other 2 , the q8 is a funny one as its footprint is q7 sized but its a smaller body thats more sporty and competes as such with the range rover sport and the bmw x6.

A 16.5 foot long, 2.5 tonne car is not sporty, no matter what Audi think

scrawnyass · 19-02-2019 01:13AM

Eric Cartman wrote: »

seat is there to compete with the ultra low price brands like dacia, its a way to take market share back in the 'any car with a new reg plate' segment.

Disagree.SEATs new SUV is a real head turner. Dacias new duster in top of the range model is not bad at all. Irish people are obsessed with car badges.Its a bit pathetic and sad really.

Effects · 19-02-2019 01:27AM

scrawnyass wrote: »

Dacias new duster in top of the range model is not bad at all.

Is it not still cheap plastic inside like the lower spec models?
I drove one and it reminded me of my old VW Caddy but with less power.

Matthewjohn · 19-02-2019 02:12AM

Just to confuse things, the Tarraco/Kodiaq are equivalent to the Tiguan Allspace.

Philb76 · 19-02-2019 03:19AM

The golf is no posher than a leon now but for some reason people claim it must be

NIMAN · 19-02-2019 03:51AM

Are they though?

I'd say they are pushing all brands equally.

Skoda are being pushed as much as SEAT.

Audi get plenty of press too.

grogi · 19-02-2019 09:07AM

For Forks Sake wrote: »

A 16.5 foot long, 2.5 tonne car is not sporty, no matter what Audi think

It's not what Audi thinks, but what people want to buy.

Eric Cartman · 19-02-2019 11:18AM

scrawnyass wrote: »

Disagree.SEATs new SUV is a real head turner. Dacias new dusterin top of the range model is not bad at all. Irish people are obsessed with car badges.Its a bit pathetic and sad really.

I dont think we’ll agree on a lot about cars.

grogi · 19-02-2019 11:47AM

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Small:
Seat Arona-VW T-Roc-Audi Q2/Q3 - isn't there a small Skoda on the way as well?

Medium:
Seat Ateca/Skoda Karoq/VW Tiguain/Audi Q5

Large
Seat Taracco/Skoda Kodiaq/VW Tourag/Audi Q7

Stupidly Large and Ugly:
Audi Q8

More like:

Large (around 4.7m):
Seat Taracco/Skoda Kodiaq/VW Tiguan AllSpace

Even larger (around 4.9m):
VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne/Audi Q7 & Q8

Zubeneschamali · 19-02-2019 11:48AM

Philb76 wrote: »

The golf is no posher than a leon now but for some reason people claim it must be

The difference is immediately obvious if you climb in, shut the door and touch things inside.

Why are the VW Group pushing SEAT so hard?

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