Barcelona deputy mayor for Business, Culture and Innovation Jaume Collboni visited the SEAT facilities in Martorell this morning. Joined by several Council representatives, Collboni met with SEAT President Luca de Meo and discussed the company’s positive momentum and the challenges of bringing more innovation to the car industry. SEAT and the Volkswagen Group in Spain Executive Vice-President for Government and Institutional Affairs Ramón Paredes also participated in the encounter.
After the meeting with Luca de Meo, the visitors toured the Prototype Development Centre, the only one of its kind in Spain, which connects the areas of R&D and Production to build the brand’s future models. During the visit, Collboni gained first-hand insights into the vehicles that SEAT is scheduling to launch in the next few years, including the three new models that the company is going to present on the framework of the biggest product offensive in its history.
The group then visited the SEAT Technical Centre, the technological engine of Spain’s largest investor in R&D, which employs 1,000 engineers who design and develop the SEAT models and participate in projects for other Volkswagen Group brands. The Technical Centre implements the most advanced innovations and systems that, for example, enable vehicle connectivity.
Luca de Meo underlined “our commitment to strengthening ties with Barcelona, supporting partnerships that enable us to pool SEAT’s experience and leadership with the dynamism and continuous transformation of the city. This is evident in the start-up of the first research centre in Barcelona focussed on urban mobility of the future – CARNET; participation at the Mobile World Congress or the Smart City Congress and the several alliances with institutions, businesses, universities and business schools in the city”.
Jaume Collboni recognised and highlighted “the contribution made by SEAT to the Barcelona brand in the sense that it links us to economic activity, industry and innovation; qualities also related to the city’s reputation”. As Vice-President of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Collboni added that “SEAT is a cornerstone in the joint economic promotion strategy of the metropolitan area, which must be implemented in 2017, with the company-shared aim of creating high quality employment”.
