It is Seat’s second attempt in New Zealand. The Moller Group represented the brand in the 1980s. Seat is not represented in Australia and EMD is only involved in New Zealand.

Volkswagen Group Australia public relations manager Kurt McGuiness said the company was always being asked about importing Seat into Australia but said it was satisfied with the Volkswagen and Skoda brands and there were no plans to add Seat.

EMD is a division of Giltrap Group which has extensive franchises in New Zealand, including Volkswagen Group brands Volkswagen, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Skoda and Audi.

EMD has branded its new distributor as Seat NZ and has appointed James Yates as general manager. Sales are expected to start in the second quarter of 2017.

Seat Leon

In an interview with GoAutoNews Premium, Mr Yates said the Seat deal was a direct result of EMD contacting the Spanish company after the launch of the Seat Ateca at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

“We approached Seat after the motor show to start discussions about representing the brand in New Zealand,” Mr Yates said.

“We are now the national distributors and will start from a single brand-specific showroom in Auckland.

“It was our desire for Seat to be launched with its own dealership to ensure that Seat has the chance to perform to its potential.

“It was also important that sales in our Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi showrooms were not disrupted.”

Seat Ateca

Mr Yates said the Seat range would start in the New Year with the recent facelifted version of the Leon five-door as well as the Ateca SUV.

“The Ateca is the sort of vehicle that suits the NZ market very well and makes the launch of the Leon viable,” he said.

“We expect the Leon Cupra to play a part with the hot-hatch enthusiasts and it is great news that we have the opportunity to also release this into NZ.”

“The new Ibiza, due in 2017, and the new Arona SUV – based on the Ibiza platform and expected in mid-2018 – are also under consideration.”

The Ateca, launched in Europe in September, is Seat’s first SUV and is based on the platform of the Seat Leon. Though named after a town in the Spanish province of Aragon, it is made alongside the Skoda Yeti in the Czech Republic.

Seat Leon Cupra

It is available in its home market with engines including an 83kW 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol; a 110kW 1.4-litre turbo-petrol; two turbo-diesels at 85kW and 140kW; and in a high-performance Cupra model with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine rated at 225kW. Prices and specifications are yet to be announced by EMD.

Variants are made in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive and equipment includes safety and infotainment components from Volkswagen’s inventory.

Seat was established in 1950. It built Fiat cars under license before expanding to produce its own cars. The agreement with Fiat ended in 1982. Volkwagen then entered into a license arrangement that proved so successful that the German company bought Seat in 1990.

Seat’s main factory is at Martorell, near Barcelona. It has the capacity of 500,000 cars a year. The plant also makes the Audi Q3 SUV.

By Neil Dowling