From FIAT to SEAT

SEAT was established on May 9, 1950 as Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, S.A. ("Spanish Automobile Company") in the industrial estate of Barcelona, the Free Trade Zone. The investors of the 600 million pesetas were 51 percent of the state industrial institute National Institute of Industry, 42 percent of the Spanish banks and 7 percent of Fiat. In this phase, Seat, as a state-owned company, was oriented towards the domestic market, which was protected by high import tariffs and FIAT licensing requirements until the 1970s.

The SEAT 600 was the beginning of Spanish motorization. It was an urban and family car that was compact and useful at the same time. In 1957, the SEAT 600 cost three times the average annual salary; today its price would be €19,351.

The Seat 133 was a four-seat, two-door, rear-engined, rear-wheel drive compact car produced by the Spanish manufacturer Seat.

At the beginning of 1974, the 133 appeared as the successor to the Seat 850, from which the floor and engine assembly also came. The body corresponded in style to the Fiat 126 Bambino, but was a little larger. Some sources speak of the Spanish manufacturer's first own development. Seat had mainly produced Fiat vehicles under license until it separated from the Fiat group in the early 1980s. It was therefore very important for the manufacturer to develop an independent model at that time. The Fiat 126 is a further development of the Fiat Nuova 500 with an air-cooled two-cylinder engine, while the Seat 133 had a water-cooled four-cylinder.

The Seat Panda was a small compact three-door car that corresponded in construction and partly in engine to the Italian Fiat Panda sister model of the first series. In 1979, Fiat and Seat had agreed to produce another joint model, but the Italians canceled the cooperation agreement when the new Seat Panda was introduced in the summer of 1980 and subsequently demanded high licensing fees for the Italian-designed model that entered. in production after all.