SEAT

In the eyes of the DGT, a Seat Ibiza contaminates more than a Lamborghini. The government wants to end it

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The environmental label system It is broken Practically since he was born. The labels Zero, echo, c and b They try to order from least to greater the environmental impact of the different vehicles that circulate in Spain. The problem? It is quite imprecise and leaves both manufacturers and drivers to make certain traps (never loading a PHEV, supercar with small gigantic batteries and engines, etc.). Almost ten years after its implementation, the Government of Spain will make a Tag system review. It does not rule out making deep changes in it and changing the assignment of environmental badges. Why now. Through a transactional amendment of Sumar, ERC, Bildu and BNG, included in the Sustainable Mobility Law, the Government has pledged to make a study and review of the current environmental labeling system. A period of twelve months is given for the Executive to present said study, including the proposal to review the badges. Although they have not transcended details about the modifications, which must still be studied, there are several suspects under the focus. Zero and Eco Tags . Manufacturers have been taking advantage of the necessary requirements to obtain the ECO and zero label. The first protect all vehicles hybrids with more than 40km of electrical autonomy and those vehicles that work with gas (LPG either CNG). The second to all electric and hybrids with electric autonomy of less than 40km. Many of these vehicles They don’t even rechargeand end up always working with fuel. Others directly have ridiculous autonomies in electrical mode and gigantic motors. This is the case of some Manufacturers Supercars such as Lamborghini. Huge engines with unbroken powers and minimal autonomies in electric mode. CO2 criteria. Another of the biggest problems of the distinctive system has to do with real carbon dioxide emissions. It is a criterion that is not measured directly, the system is based on euro regulations (which already reflect emissions) putting the focus on the age of the vehicle and not in how much it really pollutes. How will it be done. The Government will review the environmental label system, use CO2 emissions as an additional criteria, and focus on those polluting vehicles with ECO label. To achieve this, a joint work will be done with the Ministries of Interior, Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Industry and Commerce and Business, among others. Similarly, consultations will be made to the different autonomous communities. The changes will not be retroactive, they will only affect new registration vehicles. This new classification will only be effective in vehicles recently taken from the concessionaire, which are already in circulation will not see their label modified. The chaos with the zbe. The measure will not solve the current chaos with Las Zbe in Spain. In Granada they are mocking her by changing the registerMadrid continues to discuss their impact after The Varapalo of the Superior Court of Justiceand while Spain is still committed to this system a good part of the public transport system It was renewed with diesel fleets. With a maximum period of 12 months, the government faces one of the most complex reviews in the automobile industry. Changes will deeply affect The sale of certain cars in Spainand the criteria for considering that a vehicle is or not polluting are now in the air. Image | DGT In Xataka | Guide to know if your car can circulate through the Zbe of Madrid in 2024: labels, registered and areas

The reclining seat is the great battle among plane passengers. A Neozylandesa airline believes to have the solution

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If you fly, it is likely that it has happened to you more than once. You are comfortably sitting in your seat, buckled belt, headphones in the ears and a good book in the hands, and suddenly (plas!) The back of the passenger in front It is about you. Your vital space is smiling. You no longer move with the same comfort. And the worst thing is that little you can do to solve it. After all, the seats are designed for that: recline. In New Zealand there is an airline that has had An idea to avoid that kind of situations. Its proposal is still limited (it applies in the premium class), but it provides at least one solution to a problem that is usually a source of infinite discussions (and even fights) on the planes. THE WAR OF THE SEATS. A year Heather Poole, a hostess of an American airline and author of A book in which he speaks of his 15 years of experience with “crazy passengers at 35,000 feet high,” he published on the CNN website An article loaded with irony about one of the big problems with which the cabin staff fought during flights: the fights triggered by the reclining seats. “In addition to the lack of Wi -Fi or a damaged entertainment system, flight assistants listen to more complaints about the reclined seats than about anything else,” Poole explains Before recounting the case of a passenger who came to threaten to punch if the traveler in front of him continued to lower his seat. “A reclining armchair can be reclined, and no one can do anything about it”, Warns the flight attendant. “If you get it or threats to hit someone you will be you who ends up expelled.” And Air New Zealand arrived. The New Zealand flag airline, Air New Zealand, has decided to take advantage of the modernization of part of its fleet to try a way to end the fights for reclining seats. The company, based in Auckland, has taken advantage of the first “reconditioning” of an aircraft 787-9 Dreamliner to replant the design of the cabins, including among other issues new seats. The aircraft includes the Business Premier, Business Premier Luxe, Premium Economy and Economy Business category. Each has its peculiarities but if we talk about the subject that worries Poole (and the rest of the world’s hostess) the interesting is the Economy Premium. In addition to adding some lateral “wings” to the seat to offer greater privacy to the passengers and expand the storage space, the New Zealand company has sought ways to ensure that if a traveler wants to bow his neck, he does not finish a few centimeters from the passenger’s chest behind him. “All seats have a fixed exterior housing, which means that their reclines does not affect the person behind,” duck. Is it the definitive solution? It is of course an interesting idea for a problem that, although it may seem anecdotal, alters the flight experience to many passengers and forces intervene often to cabin staff. The concept of reclining seat with an exterior housing that prevents the backrest from going backwards It is not new (at least in trains) and Air New Zealand limits it to its Premium Economy class. The tourist class seats of its adapted 787-9 are simpler and the company does not specify that they incorporate any novelty related to the inclination. With all the bet is interesting because the airline wants to continue modernizing its 787-9. The first of its reconditioned aircraft will be released on an Auckland-Brisbane flight on May 19, but the company is already working on a second ship in Singapore and hopes to have seven units ready for the end of the year. “The 14 Boeing 787-9 of the Air New Zealand fleet will be updated to the new cabin configuration by the end of 2026,” They clarify From the company. How serious is the problem? “The main problem is that airlines are piling too many seats in a small space. Do you remember the leg space?” Ironiza Poole. Your comment slips a key idea: optimization does not respond only to a matter of comfort, it is also (and above all) an economic issue. Airplanes have a limited capacity and conditioned by the manufacturer, but to the extent that their squares are redesigned by airlines can earn space, travelers … and money. The issue is so relevant that there are airlines that have op reduce degrees of inclination of your seats or limit Its rotation. In the sector even The idea is handled to directly install immobile seats that prevent any degree of adjustment. That without even more radical ideas, such as that of the Spanish entrepreneur Alejandro Núñez and his two height seator the places for passengers They fly standingraised by some Low Cost. Goodbye to the fights? That is the goal. And one of the advantages that a priori offer the seats of the new Air New Zealand aircraft. They are not the only ones who have sought ways to put some “peace” among the people who have to share flight hours in a limited space. There are companies that have come to design Kits that allows the front seat to be tilted and It is not so much Tiktok circulated a trick more than questionable to prevent the passenger from front to incline our lap: activate the air conditioning and guide it towards it. Images | Air New Zealand In Xataka | We have been binding to the suitcases to identify them at the airport for years. Your employees warn that it is a bad idea

Wayne Griffiths, CEO of Seat and leader of his historical repositioning leaves

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The CEO of Seat and Cupra leaves the leadership of the company since March 31, 2025. With this notic we have surprised the email entrance tray at 16:16 of, indeed, today March 31, 2025, announcing the departure of Wayne Griffiths, CEO until today of the company and one of the voices that have generated the most noise in the Spanish car in recent years. “At your own request”. Wayne Griffiths’s departure is voluntary, leaving Seat SA a few days after the company presented its results. “At your own request with immediate effect to undertake new challenges”, Read in the statement that the company has published. Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand and president of the board of directors of SEAT SA highlights of Griffiths that has done a great job in the development of the Cupra brand and in the restructuring of the company. “The company has lived a deep change under its leadership. The profile. Until now, Griffiths’s career He had always been linked to the march of the Volkswagen Group. His admission occurred in 1989 aboard Audi, where he grew up during the 90s after a brief step by Seat. As of 1998 he assumed positions of responsibility in the Audi sales area which catapulted him to the position of Audi sales director in Germany during the 2000s. Already in 2016 he was appointed Commercial Vice President of Seat SA S has since been the visible head of the transformation of Seat, first as president of Cupra since December 2018 and, subsequently, as president of Seat since October 2020. A transformation. During the four and a half years that Griffiths has been the president of the company has worked to finish tracking the train to which Luca de Meo had already put the tracks. The Italian arrived in 2015 to the SEAT address with the task of refloating the company. Seat had been losing money since 2008. That same 2015 Seat has already entered positive numbers and began a restructuring that has completely changed the company’s identity. Because on the way to sell greater volume but, above all, more expensive cars, Cupra was taken from under the sleeve. Now the company is the one that pulls the car inside Seat Sa From the departure in 2020 of the ItalianGriffiths has led a conversion that has left us the company’s first electric cars (CUPRA BORN and Tavascan) But, above all, the idea that Seat SA is now a very different thing than a decade ago. “The future is Cupra”. In March 2022, Griffiths surprised with a phrase in the presentation of the company’s results: “Cupra is not the end of Seat. Cupra gives Seat a future and the future is electric. The future is Cupra.” Seat’s position began to stagger and the lace seemed to put Thomas Schäfer, one of the strongest men in the Volkswagen group, who said that “We will find a new role for Seat”. Little by little, Cupra has devoured Seat. As you can see in the superior image, when Griffiths took command of Seat SA, Martorell produced just over 350,000 cars. Last year He moved above 480,000 cars. Despite the substantial increase in Cupra (from 23,460 units in 2020 to 173,384 units last year), the brand has managed to re -manufacture almost 240,000 Seat cars. And the cupra figures, as little, should be maintained over time. The company has found a success in the Formentor. The car is little more than a “lifted” Seat León but they have managed to give them their own identity and, above all, sell it much more expensive. The Seat León today starts about 23,000 euros while The Formentor Cupra exceeds 35,000 euros starting. A rocker. In recent years, Seat SA has clearly bet on Cupra. Cupra has been receiving New models ads. He went from Seat sports branch to a brand with its own identity. A movement that has the firm of De Meowho did the same with Abarth and Fiat and has repeated play with Alpine and Renault. Thus, the same car can be sold slightly retouched with a small cost for the company but at a much higher price, shooting the profit margin. The complicated thing is to provide the new signature of its own identity. Cupra has found it with a new logo, sharp and more daring shapes than any other Volkswagen group company. Also, in addition, it is receiving new electrical models and plug -in hybrids, options in danger of extinction within SEAT. At the same time, Seat has finished positioning itself as the Volkswagen input range. Your cars They lack any type of electrification while they have contained their prices a bit. In return, they take a juicy part of sales, open the door to position themselves as a brand interested in micromobility services And who knowsin the future of affordable electric cars to return as the most economical option. A critic. Griffiths has ended up framing the project that was already guessed with Luca de Meo’s command but, in addition, with his departure one of the most critical voices is also leaving and that he has left in the automobile sector in Spain. The CEO of Seat has always been contrary to Chinese electric car tariffsEuropean car policies to foster the electric car and complicate the future to combustion and Critic with the Government From his position as President of ANFAC, to which he resigned in June 2024. I said a few days ago that SEAT will have to fire workers If manufacturers are forced to comply with emission regulations designed by 2027. With them, Seat will not be able to survive if they do not change radically in the next two years. Photo | SEAT In Xataka | They bet on making Seat the cheapest brand of the Volkswagen group. Now Martorell’s production is at risk

Choosing seat to fly has become a luxury. Now Ryanair has his own subscription to assure you

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Offer the basics to travel. A seat and (for the moment) a hand suitcase. This is how operators have done business Low Cost When it comes to flying. Eliminate everything that the client can consider accessory to lower the basic prices of tickets. For the rest, you have to go through the box. But if you are fed up with all this, Ryanair proposes another option: Subscribe to his flights. A subscription to Ryanair. Ryanair Prime. This is the name of the new service that The company is offering on its website. For 79 euros a year, the Low Cost airline offers you a series of exclusive advantages within its membership: Priority sale on selected flights Exclusive discounts for some flights Free selection for the member and a companion According to the company, if we want to choose a seat every time we travel this subscription, it is profitable from three flights since we would stop paying 105 euros. That is, in case of flying three times the traveler would be saving 26 euros in total. If we fly twelve times, savings can reach 420 euros. The 12 flights. The mention of savings of those 12 flights is not accidental. As read in the Subscription terms and conditionsthe client can choose a seat up to twelve occasions for him and the companion. That is, it is understood that this benefit in the subscription only reaches the first 12 trips of the year. (Lot) small print. When promoting this service, the company has emphasized advantages such as travel insurance to cancel a flight as a result of an injury or disease (excluding COVID-19), the theft of the luggage or the delay of other flights. Of course, it is specified that those over 70 are excluded from disease coverage. It is not the only aspect that attention must be paid since the reserve of seats has its own peculiarities. Yes, it is true that the member can choose free seat for him and the companion but always and when they opt for seats that do not imply an extra cost in their selection. Ryanair points out that, therefore, it is not guaranteed that the member of the subscription and the traveler can travel accompanied by each other since it will depend on the available seats that allow a free change or the random assignment by the company. The seat business. When it comes to eliminating all the accessory of a flight, one of the first spotlights in which Ryanair attention was in the selection of seats. The company, like so many other low cost, knows that the client is willing to pay for them to travel accompanied, to have more leg space or to leave before the plane (choosing the front seats) once he has landed. In 2023, The Telegraph It echoed a study in which the airlines of the seat choice service were specified. According to him, Ryanair was the fifth company that took the most benefit, with 3,280 million pounds a year. But it was the Low Costa company that made the most money in this regard. Keep in mind that Delta (6,550 million pounds), United Airlines ((6,460 million pounds), American Airlines (6,320 million pounds) and Southwest Airlines (4,870 million pounds) offer much longer flights and the cost of choosing a seat is also superior. A seat and nothing more. As you can see in the superior image, Ryanair takes into account various services that are gradually more than the price of the ticket. With the basic rate it is possible to travel for 15 euros in a Madrid-Cagliari, for example, but you will not have the right to choose a seat and will have to adapt to the suitcase for the smallest possible hand luggage. In addition, rates play to offer and remove services to propose the most expensive alternative as the most interesting. Thus, the option Regular It allows to carry a larger cabin in the cabin (up to 10 kg) but this is not available if we want to bill a 20 kg suitc Plus. Nor is the priority shipment available in the latter used by the Regular. The controversy of the suitcase. As we see, the subscription service completely omits the possibility of carrying a hand suitcase on board which, without a doubt, is the company’s last great controversy. In Spain, Low cost have been fined For not allowing the passage with hand suitcases, Ryanair being with a fine of more than 107 million euros the most punished. The company defends itself by ensuring that it does allow access to the aircraft with hand luggage but that this It must be a maximum 40 centimeters high, 20 centimeters wide and 25 centimeters deep. These measures are equivalent to a bag or backpack but the typical troley used on trips is usually larger. In that case, if this last suitcase has not been added when making the reservation and does not enter the measures, The company charges a 46 euros supplement. However, the Ministry of Consumer does not consider that the basic rate contemplates the obligation to allow access to the plane with a hand suitc Insults answered Pablo BustinduyMinister of Consumption, by Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair. But, above all, applying pressure with The exit of airports with lower traffic of the country. Photo | Markus Winkler In Xataka | Spain has tired of Ryanair’s practices. And the airline is going to hit where it hurts the most: the provinces airports

SEAT threatens 1,500 layoffs in Martorell

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The European car industry faces an uncertain future. In the roderas of the complicated path of electrification of its catalog, the obstacles of the Chinese electric car have been crossed and, now, the US tariff threats. In that scenario, the European Union has imposed an additional tariff of 20.7% to electric vehicles manufactured in China. The bad news is that this climb has not only affected Chinese manufacturers cars. Seat has been trapped In the midst of this regulation with the Tavascan cupra. The Tavascan coupra shoots. He Cupra tavascan, He was the first electric “rebel” brand of Seat. The Cupra Electric Model It is assembled In the factory that Volkswagen has in Hefei (China). Therefore, even if it is a European brand, the same tariffs are applied as to the rest of Chinese brands. That has made its cost, which already assumed a 10% tariff already existing, you have to add an additional 20.7% that the EU has imposed to cars manufactured in China that entered into force at the end of 2024. This raises the total tax at 30.7%, which seriously affects the profitability of this model whose price ranges between 41,000 and 53,000 euros. 1,500 jobs at stake. The domino effect of the fall in the profitability of the model that was going to mark the passage of the company’s electrification, has caused the company to rethink the strategy by reducing the production of cars in its Martorell factory. Wayne Griffiths, CEO of Seat, assured To the agency Reuters That, if these tariffs are not reduced to Tavascan before March 2025, the company would be forced to cut 1,500 direct jobs and up to 10,000 indirects related to suppliers of the Catalan factory. This figure doubles the initial estimates of the unions. Matías Carnero, president of UGT of Catalunya pointed out In an interview for Eldiario.es that “were in danger between 600 and 700 jobs” due to tariffs. EMISSION OBJECTIVES add more tension. Seat’s situation is aggravated with the need to fulfill Pollutant emission objectives established by Brussels. This directive forces SEAT to reduce vehicle production with combustion engines and reconsider its commercial strategy given the economic unfeasibility of its electrical models by tariffs. In this context, the company is negotiating with the European authorities to make the emission regulations more flexible and mitigate the economic impact and avoid more labor cuts. “We don’t have much time. We need to reach a solution in the first quarter.” Griffiths pointed out in statements to Reuters. “We cannot solve it overnight,” said the SEAT manager, highlighting that to comply with the regulations, they had to develop synthetic fuel engines. A new stick on the wheels. Seat did not come from marking its best financial figures, so the impact of tariffs is not the only challenge that arises in the future of Seat. In the third quarter of 2024, sales had already fallen 4%, attributed to macroeconomic factors such as global instability. The company had already announced Reduction of about 90,000 units in the Martorell plant, which represents a 17% cut in its production The Catalan factory is a key piece for Seat, since it manufactures models such as the Formentor, León and Arona coupra, in addition to the Audi A1. The brand assured in its Annual 2023 report produce more than 443,400 units in that factory. However, economic difficulties have already led Seat to apply different rounds of layoffs since 2022. If an agreement with the EU is not reached, the dismissals will continue in the Seat’s flagship factory. In Xataka | Volkswagen has saved the furniture, but not to its template: 35,000 layoffs in Germany to continue manufacturing Image | SEAT

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