Seat celebrates its best-ever March
SEAT is celebrating a cluster of impressive sales records – including its best March ever in the UK – as British buyers turn in their droves to the value, quality and sporting style of the Spanish car maker’s models.
With the numbers officially crunched by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) SEAT is celebrating not only its best-ever March in absolute terms, but also record market shares for both the crucial month of March and the entire first quarter of 2011.
The impressive performance saw SEAT register a record 7,251 new cars last month for a market share of 1.98% (source: SMMT). That’s an increase of 865 cars on the same month last year, and comes without the support of the Government’s scrappage scheme which was shoring up sales in March 2010.
Market share has leapt from 1.61% 12 months ago to a whopping 1.98% last month – an impressive increase of 13.55% which looks all the more notable when set against the backdrop of a March market down almost eight per cent.
Meanwhile SEAT’s performance so far this year – 10,471 sales versus 9,582 for the corresponding period 12 months ago – shows that these exceptional March sales are no flash in the pan. In fact the brand’s year-to-date market share (1.88%) is another all-time record in the UK.
Dig a little deeper into the numbers and the Spanish brand’s sales successes so far this year become even more impressive. Retail sales – still comfortably the bulk of SEAT’s business in the UK – are up by no less than 50% in March versus March 2010, and that in a retail market as a whole which was down by more than 14%.
Similarly, in the year so far SEAT’s retail sales have soared by more than 35% versus the first three months of 2010. The retail market as a whole is down by 16.5% year-to-date.
SEAT’s soaring sales stand comparison with many of the UK motor industry’s established mass market names, too. So far this year the firm’s total registrations are up by 9.28% while many others have seen their sales for the year to date go into reverse.
Peter Wyhinny, managing director of SEAT UK, is understandably elated with the sales successes. He said: ‘It’ll probably come as no surprise to learn that I’m extremely pleased with these numbers! SEAT’s performance in the key month of March, and throughout the first quarter of 2011, has been exceptional.
‘Our fresh, exciting and comprehensive portfolio of products – from sporty Ibiza through sleek Leon and luxurious Exeo to the multi award-winning new Alhambra – is clearly appealing to new car buyers like never before.
‘The success of our vibrant young range of cars, linked to our strong and growing network of dealers and consistently impressive residual values, sees us building an increasing presence on the UK’s roads.’
He added: ‘With a strong order bank underpinning this growth that matches the position of 12 months ago but has been achieved without the support of scrappage, I think it’s fair to say that we can look forward to a suitably sunny outlook for the months ahead, too.’
