Constitution
The history of SEAT begins in the post-war Spain, in an era in which the country had 3 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. In 1950, the INI (National Institute of industry) and the FIAT car company joined forces to popularize the use of the car in Spain. The result was the Constitution of the Spanish society of automobile tourism.The first model that came out of the factory located in the Zona Franca de Barcelona was the 1400, which was released in 1953. The success of this model is immediate and your demand grows rapidly, giving rise to new versions and an increase in production. In 1956 reaches a milestone in the history of SEAT: the production of 10,000 cars a year.Then SEAT started to produce cars aimed at the emerging middle class. Thus in 1957 was born the 600, an icon and the most emblematic brand automobile.
This model starts the authentic motorization of the country, which positively influences the economy by encouraging the proliferation of other businesses as gas stations or shops, where the first owners of vehicles come seeking help to solve the problems suffered by their cars, well outside an engine failure or a broken glass.The popularity and sales of the company, as well as the produced units, continue to grow during the 1960s, at the same time produced other models such as the 1500, the 850 or the 124.En the 70’s the company has faced major problems. The changes produced in the Spanish political landscape make it impossible to maintain the system of tariffs on imports, this encourages the entry of large multinational automobile in Spain, representing a strong competition. In addition, the automotive sector was shaken by the two energy crises suffered worldwide.With the establishment of democracy, the INI takes the decision to close or sell public companies that had losses, among them was SEAT.
