Seat remains steady and forward. Under the leadership of Wayne Griffiths, the company emerged as a major performer in the sector last year, driven largely by Cupra rebounding after the pandemic disruption. Seat S.A., comprised of Seat and Cupra, closed 2023 with an operating profit of 625 million euros and revenue of 14.333 billion euros, a 33% jump from 2022. The group delivered 602,000 vehicles. These global results, analyzed in detail by Seat and Wayne Griffiths on a future date, reinforce the company’s important role within the Volkswagen Group.
The German auto group has published its global figures for 2023, showing positive momentum. The Volkswagen Group reported a post tax profit of 17.928 billion euros for 2023, up 13.1% from 15.852 billion euros in 2022.
9.2 million vehicles
Overall, when considering all brands within the group, revenue reached 322.284 billion euros in 2023, up 15.5% from the prior year, with a worldwide vehicle total of 9.24 million units. This marks an 11.8% increase year over year.
All brands posted solid results, led by the Brand Group Core division, which includes Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Skoda, and Seat/Cupra. That unit achieved a 79.8% rise in operating profit, reaching 7.273 billion euros, of which 625 million euro carry the Seat S.A. badge.
The Brand Group Progressive, the group’s luxury arm comprising Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Ducati, saw a 17.6% decline in operating profit to 6.280 billion euros, affected by raw material availability. Porsche, which operates in a separate Sport Luxury division, grew 8% to 6.938 billion euros.
Cupra’s momentum
The growth was fueled by Cupra, which is acting as a key catalyst for Seat S.A. In 2023 Cupra sales rose by 50.9%, selling 230,700 cars worldwide, while Seat increased by 24% to 288,400 vehicles. The combined result for both brands shows an average increase of 34.6% with 519,200 cars registered last year. This performance supports Wayne Griffiths’ plan to position both brands strongly for 2024, with Cupra at the forefront.
That 50.9% Cupra growth rests on models like the Formentor, which sold 120,100 units in 2023, followed by the Born, an electric model, with a 44.4% rise to 45,300 units. Germany stands as Cupra’s top market with 59,700 units. Meanwhile Seat benefited from a strong rebound in Spain, its main market, with 59,700 vehicles sold and a 21.2% year over year increase.
Europe and North America lift off
The Volkswagen Group’s report highlights stronger volumes in Europe and North America, with growth of 19.3% and 24.2% respectively, supporting overall expansion. Revenues rose 21.6% in Europe to 187.949 billion euros, and 13.4% in North America to 59.910 billion euros. The Asia-Pacific region declined 2.6% to 50.109 billion euros. In South America, revenue rose 10.7% to 17.139 billion euros.
“In a challenging environment, the Volkswagen Group delivered solid results in 2023. We intend to build on this momentum in 2024 by increasing the number of new vehicles, cutting costs, maximizing synergies within the group, and strengthening our regional position with a profitable expansion in North America”, stated Arno Antlitz, chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the company.
Looking ahead, the group plans to launch 30 new models during the year and anticipates more than 10.0 billion euros in profitability improvements by the end of 2024. The Group expects revenue to grow up to 5% and an operating margin on sales between 7% and 7.5% for the year ahead.