SEAT, the manufacturer that defined a generation of Spanish rallying, will reportedly be shut down by Volkswagen Group. A report from Wirtschaftswoche revealed the Spanish marque is not in Volkswagen’s Vision 2030 roadmap as the parent company continues to sort out its murky financial situation. Consequently, the German magazine noted SEAT will be shuttered by 2029.

Volkswagen has been dealing poor sales, increasing costs, and a decline in the labor market which have resulted in its worst economic crisis in years. The turmoil extends to the German economy as a whole, which has been on the downturn since 2022 with major ramifications politically and socially. The company has tried to stimulate itself through means like ramping up defense production, which comes as Europe rearms itself in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or looking at alternative uses for its plants.

CEO Oliver Blume has implemented major austerity measures to hopefully stop the bleeding. Consequently, roughly 50,000 jobs are expected to be cut and the product lineup will be reduced accordingly.

With things looking bleak for Volkswagen, Wirtschaftswoche noted that internal documents described SEAT as taking up too many resources at the moment. Cupra, which is also owned by SEAT and was its motorsports division before being spun off into a separate brand, would receive the reallocated resources once its parent kicks the bucket.

SEAT, an acronym for Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, was jointly founded in 1950 by the Spanish government and FIAT. It was sold to Volkswagen in 1986.

The company has a rich history in racing dating back to the 1970s, competing in both pavement and rallying. The latter division was founded in 1972 as SEAT Sport, dominating the Spanish national championship with the SEAT 124. Carlos Sainz got his start with the manufacturer, dominating the Copa Panda championship before joining Ford.

The Ibiza would be SEAT’s most iconic rally line, starting with the Bimotor that reigned in the late 1980s followed by the Kit Car that three-peated the FIA 2-Litre World Rally Cup from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, SEAT joined the World Rally Championship with the Córdoba WRC. The project unfortunately didn’t bear much fruit with just three podiums until the team was closed after 2000.

SEAT’s rally footprint also extended to raids thanks to company technical vice president Vicente Aguilera, who designed the SEAT Toledo Marathon. In 1993, it entered the nascent FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies with Josep María Servià. Servià, who previously dominated the Spanish Gravel Championship in the Ibiza Bimotor, debuted at the Baja Nicola 1000 before winning the Raid of Greece. Erwin Weber finished runner-up in the 1994 Baja Portalegre and third at the Baja Aragón with the Toledo, which Servià followed up with a second in Greece.

Despite its success, the Toledo Marathon never raced the Dakar Rally. The team was quietly shut down as SEAT chose to prioritze the WRC.

Although short-lived, the Toledo still lives on today as a vintage racer courtesy of SEAT Históricos. As its name suggests, the company is the heritage brand that prepares and fields SEATs in historic rallies. The program was founded in 2010 and maintains some autonomy from the parent company, which should ensure its safety once SEAT goes under.

Featured image credit: SEAT