Markus Haupt, confirmed as CEO of Seat and Cupra

The board of directors of Seat and Cupra, chaired by Thomas Schäfer, confirmed this Thursday to Markus Haupt as CEO. As announced by the company in a statement, Haupt, who served as interim CEO since April 1, has been permanently appointed to the position.

Haupt thus officially takes over from the British Wayne Griffiths, who unexpectedly left the position of CEO of the company on March 31. Haupt, who was also executive vice president of Production and Logistics at Seat, was the natural candidate due to his level of knowledge of Seat and Cupraand for months it was expected to be ratified, although the decision has finally been delayed until this Thursday.

“Haupt has held the position of interim CEO since April 1 and now, with the full support of the company’s Executive Committee, assumes the position permanently,” underlines Seat. The company clarifies that the appointment is with immediate effect and that he will soon announce who will replace him as vice president of Production and Logistics, a position he has held since 2022.

The manager takes charge at a decisive moment for the Spanish subsidiary of the Volkswagen (VW) group, both due to the transition to electric cars and European tariffs taxes on the Cupra Tavascan, the electric vehicle that Seat produces in China, and the effects that this decision may have on production at the Martorell plant (Barcelona).

These European Union (EU) tariffs on the import of the Cupra Tavascan currently total 30.7%, of which 10% was already planned previously and 20.7% has been set additionally. Seat continues trying to influence the European Commission to find a solution to tariffsbut still no results.

“Ideal” candidate

In the statement, Seat assures that Haupt is the “ideal” candidate for the position, due to his career in both the Volkswagen group and Seat. “After the interim period, Haupt will continue to focus on accelerating the company’s electrificationto maintain Cupra’s exponential growth and revitalize the Seat brand, starting with the launch of the new Seat Ibiza and Arona,” he assured.

For his part, the president of the board of directors of Seat and Cupra, Thomas Schäfer, who is also CEO of the Volkswagen brand, has highlighted that Haupt “brings more than two decades of experience across multiple brands and countries within the group”.

“His deep knowledge in production, logistics and strategic planning makes him the ideal leader to drive the company’s electrification strategy and Cupra’s continued growth. After successfully leading the transformation of the Seat and Cupra facilities in preparation for the launch of the family of urban electric cars, he is perfectly prepared to define the future of both brands, he added.

The president of the Seat works council, Matías Carnero (UGT), has pointed out, for his part, that Haupt was the “suitable” person for the position. “Firstly because he knows the production and secondly because he is a well-known person, who understands our culture and knows the unions,” said Carnero.

Haupt will be in charge of maintaining “all that positive trajectory that Wayne has brought in recent years, both in number and volume.” “Now what we have to do is fight together with us to bring the second platform” to the Martorell factory in order to “have a guarantee of employment in the coming years,” he added.

Haupt: “We will write a new chapter of growth”

Seat also recalls in the statement that the director’s ratification comes shortly before the company launches the first electric vehicle to be manufactured at the Martorell plant, the Cupra Raval. For his part, Haupt thanked VW’s senior management and the Volkswagen group’s board of directors for the trust placed in him and assured: ““It is a privilege to lead the company during its most important transformation.”.

“I am convinced that we will write a new chapter of growth in the history of the company,” he stated after his appointment. Haupt He began his career in 2001 at Seat and he played a key role in the launch of the Audi Q3 at the Martorell plant (Barcelona), and in his career he has also been president of Volkswagen Navarra and general director of the Landaben plant (Pamplona).