SEAT has cemented its place as the fastest-growing volume UK car brand with soaring fleet sales in the first half of 2018.
SEAT’s latest sales results show year-on-year Fleet and True Fleet sales growth of 27% and 45% respectively – despite the market declining by 7% overall and by 8% in True Fleet.
The continued success for the Barcelona-based manufacturer means it has solidified its place in the True Fleet top-ten in the first half of the year, taking a 4% share of the UK True Fleet market.
The impressive fleet performance, which builds on record-breaking 2017 figures, follows SEAT’s biggest ever product offensive with the new Ibiza supermini and Arona compact crossover bolstering the success of the established Leon, and its first ever SUV, the Ateca – all proving a hit with the fleet market.
The outstanding fleet numbers are even more impressive given they sit against a backdrop of controlled reduction of rental volume, which in turn helped SEAT achieve industry-leading residual values and TCO (total cost of ownership).
Peter McDonald, Head of Business Sales at SEAT UK, said: “The first half of the year has been a fantastic success with fleet operators turning to SEAT thanks to growing interest in our brand, our broadened product portfolio and our genuine intention to make it easier for customers.
“Programmes like our four-day test drive make us unique; it is much easier for company car drivers to access a demonstration vehicle for a meaningful period of time – the feedback is excellent and it’s a standout element of our a proposition.
“Similarly our approach to launching SEAT Arona was to include, for example, metallic paint into the price and improve the standard specification, eliminating the need for options. The response has been extremely positive, making it easier for the customer to specify and transact. We have plans underway to be even more ambitious in this objective to make the journey easy for customers.”
Alongside winning several honours for its range of vehicles, SEAT was recently named 2018 Most Improved Manufacturer of the Year in both the Fleet News and Fleet World awards, in recognition of its industry-leading fleet programme.
