SEAT S.A. and Barcelona City Council sign an agreement to boost innovation and sustainable urban mobility

• The agreement addresses the challenges of boosting the city’s economy, promoting electric mobility, driving urban innovation and strengthening the Barcelona brand
• With this collaboration, SEAT S.A. and the City Council will seek new ways to promote the use of electrified vehicles and improve the metropolitan charging infrastructure
• SEAT S.A. reinforces its link with its hometown of more than 70 years, which inspired the innovative and disruptive spirit of its CUPRA brand

SEAT S.A. and Barcelona City Council have signed an agreement to jointly address the challenges of sustainable urban mobility, boosting the city’s economy, driving urban innovation and promoting the Barcelona brand.  

Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, and Wayne Griffiths, CEO of SEAT and CUPRA, signed the agreement at SEAT S.A.'s headquarters in Martorell, in an event that was also attended by Patricia Such, Director of Corporate Operations at SEAT S.A., and Maria Eugènia Gay, Second Deputy Mayor of Barcelona. The guests also visited the Technical Centre to learn about the company's future models.

“This agreement reaffirms our commitment to the future of Barcelona, where we were born more than 70 years ago and with which we will continue to work to transform the city’s mobility and boost its economy. We have a deep connection with this city and its people. Barcelona has enormous potential and is internationally recognised for its culture and its entrepreneurial, innovative and disruptive spirit. This is where we built our first SEAT car and this is where CUPRA inspires the world from”, explained Wayne Griffiths, CEO of SEAT and CUPRA.

The Mayor of Barcelona highlighted the value of this new collaboration with the company and affirmed that the city needs organisations like SEAT S.A. that align their own objectives with those of Barcelona. Collboni stated that "the agreement will boost the development of electric mobility and help strengthen the Catalan capital's commitment to decarbonisation, as well as promoting quality training for workers in the mobility sector". 

BARCELONA, A SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY HUB

The agreement aims to share SEAT S.A.'s knowledge in mobility, innovation and electrification with the city in order to develop projects in these areas. 30% of vehicles circulating in Barcelona's Low Emission Zone are electric or ECO-labelled, and, with this collaboration, new ways are being sought to promote the use of electrified vehicles and enhance the metropolitan recharging infrastructure. The main objective is to implement sustainable urban mobility that improves the quality of life of Barcelona’s citizens.

The agreement between the company and the City Council also prioritises the revitalisation of Barcelona's business and industrial network –with a special focus on the Zona Franca area– through the fostering of collaborations between public and private agents. The agreement aims to promote the implementation of circular economy projects and encourage mobility training activities. These actions, together with cooperation in urban innovation projects and initiatives to strengthen the city's digital ecosystem, seek to consolidate Barcelona as a technology hub and a magnet for investment and talent.

SEAT S.A. and the Barcelona City Council intend to work together to continue positioning the city internationally. The agreement will contribute to boost Barcelona's image on the global stage of electric and sustainable mobility, attracting new projects, driving innovation and stimulating the economy.

MORE THAN 70 YEARS OF CONNECTION BETWEEN BARCELONA AND SEAT S.A. 

SEAT S.A. has an historic link with Barcelona. More than 70 years have passed since the first SEAT car left the old Zona Franca factory and, since then, the company has worked with entities and companies in the city on multiple initiatives. Barcelona gave the SEAT brand its vibrant spirit and since 2018, it has represented the essence of CUPRA, the rebellious, emotional and unconventional challenger brand. Two Barcelona neighbourhoods have given their names to two of its models, the CUPRA Born and CUPRA Raval, and with the launch of the "I CUPRA BCN" campaign last year, the brand paid tribute to its hometown.

In 2020, SEAT S.A. took its commitment to Barcelona a step further with the opening of CASA SEAT, a space that has become a new epicentre of the city's cultural scene. The company is also working to make Barcelona a benchmark in the digitalisation of mobility through its innovation hub, SEAT CODE, which develops disruptive solutions in the field of mobility, connectivity and digitalisation.