Spanish car maker, SEAT, is this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of the opening of its Technical Centre in Martorell. The site, which is the only one of its kind in Spain and southern Europe, is an important location not just for SEAT but also for parent company, Volkswagen Group.
Dr. Matthias Rabe, Executive Vice-President for R&D at SEAT, highlighted the importance of the company's continued investment while speaking to business leaders and politicians at the 'Encuentros SEAT' forum in Madrid saying: "SEAT is the largest industrial investor in R&D in Spain and having these facilities makes us fully prepared to address the challenges of the car of the future". Since 2010 SEAT has invested over €1.4 billion in R&D: "Between 2006 and 2014 SEAT lowered CO2 emissions by 21%, partly due to innovations such as engine optimisation, improved aerodynamics and by producing more lightweight vehicles".
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The continued growth of SEAT has been helped by a host of new models including the Mii and Leon range, while its desirability has been boosted with high performance models such as the Leon Cupra. At the forum, SEAT Executive Committee President Jürgen Stackmann drew attention to 2014's performance at the Martorell plant, which produced a total of 442,677 vehicles - an increase of 13.5 per cent (52,629 vehicles) over 2013. This growth, he said, led to the hiring of 800 temporary workers of which 350 have been signed to permanent contracts this year. He went on to say that: "We are looking forward to 2015 with optimism. We are going to open more than 100 dealerships, 90% of them in Europe, and our objective is to consolidate the sales growth of the last two years".