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We have attended an invitation from Seat to learn about the importance of SUV bodies in their sales and the conclusion is devastating: 53% of the cars they sell are SUVs: Arona (urban), Ateca (family) and Tarraco (up to 7 seats). The Spanish market is going the same way, and 56% of the cars sold have SUV bodies.
In 2012 this was not the case, back then SUVs “only” accounted for 19% of sales. Entering each segment, the utilities in demand were the Seat Ibiza, Ford Fiesta or Renault Clio, to name three examples, and the urban SUVs, B-SUVs because they were from the B segment, only accounted for 3% of sales.
There were no models and there was no demand. Little by little, Seat was one of the first, we realized that, among small cars, the SUV body could also succeed.
In the Ateca segment, the rise has also been important and has gone from 13 to 26%. It’s our new family car. When we used to buy a Seat Toledo, Renault Laguna or VW Passat, now we buy a Seat Ateca, Renault Austral (soon) or VW Tiguan.
Seat in Europe and in the world
In studies carried out by Seat, the conclusions are clear. Customers buy these cars for their functionality. SUVs provide interior space, elevated driving position, and cabin modularity and versatility. “The same” offered by minivans, but with a more attractive body. In fact, in general, the minivan is better in those areas than the SUV.
In the compact segment, it is important that the design is attractive and that the driving has sporty overtones. And technology and security are important. In the end, compact SUVs are bought by design and price.
And this is more popular with men than with women. 70% of SUV car sales are to men. But the trend is changing, because until recently, it was 80%.
Also the average purchase age is changing and these cars are bought by 50 year olds on average, instead of 40, which was previously measured. The ease of entering and exiting their cabin makes them especially attractive for this type of public.
Seat SUV range
We said it at the beginning, Seat’s SUV range is made up of the Arona, the Ateca and the Tarraco. The Arona is 4.1 meters long and is based on the Seat Ibiza, is the urban SUV, the utility. It has gasoline engines of 95, 110 and 150 CV and one powered by Compressed Natural Gas and gasoline of 90 CV that has the “ECO” label of the DGT. The rest have the “C”. The most recommended, as a “general use for everything” car, is the 110 TSI which, in addition, has just modified its equipment with new wheels and tires to consume less, homologate less than 120 grams per kilometer and be exempt from registration tax . Always with front-wheel drive, depending on the engine, you can also choose automatic gearbox.
The Ateca is also a best seller, with more than 400,000 units sold worldwide since its birth in 2016. With 4.4 meters long, and remodeled in 2020, it has gasoline and diesel engines, manual or automatic transmission and front or 4-wheel drive. There are only versions with a “C” label and we would like the rear bench to be sliding, to increase modularity.
Finally, the largest, the Seat Tarraco. It measures 4.7 meters in length and can have 5 or 7 seats. In case of choosing it with 7 seats, the third row is hidden in the trunk when you do not use it. It also has front or 4-wheel drive and, with all the logic in the world, the most popular version is the 150 hp TDI. The diesel engine fits this car perfectly. Of the nearly 80,000 units produced, some 70,000 have been for the rest of Europe and only 10,000 for the premises.
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