Giuseppe Tommaso joined SEAT in 2012 to take up the role of fleet and remarketing director, a job that carries a global responsibility for the Spanish brand member of the Volkswagen Group. His appointment was seen as giving SEAT’s fleet business strategic importance to sustain SEAT’s ambitious long term growth.

Since then SEAT has launched the Mii, the Toledo and the new Leon, the latest model to join the range being the ST (sport tourer), the first time that SEAT has offered an estate car in the Leon range.

SEAT is a Spanish brand and Spain has been badly affected by the European economic crisis. Even so there are some signs of recovery in the European economy and Spain is one of the countries where the economy finally appears to be becoming more stable. How those European improvements are affecting SEAT’s international fleet business was the first question we asked Mr Tommaso.

‘We see signs of recovery – not in all European markets. The improvements are mainly in the UK, Denmark and Poland,’ he tells IFW. ‘Even though in the first eight months of the year the European fleet market is still nearly 8% down and even declining stronger than the total market.

‘However, in this difficult environment SEAT was able to grow. Including fleet and retail sales, we are 10% above last year. Talking just about fleet, not including car rentals, Seat has grown 53% in the five largest European markets, which we call the ‘Euro 5’ – Germany, Spain, the UK, France and Italy. In Germany, we have grown 75%, in Spain by 59% and in the UK by 45%. This success is thanks to our new models, the new Toledo and new Leon. It’s also due to other action that we have taken, such as sales to small and medium companies and also a new brand communication that we have called, "SEAT for Business", which we started at the beginning of 2013.

‘Last year we gave priority to the sales to small and medium companies, launching a programme to improve the professionalism of the dealer network in this channel. So far this year we have 51 dealers participating across Europe and the intention is to end the year with 83. The most important thing is to bring SEAT out of the showroom and present it to the final customer. Our priority is to make 10,000 visits to small and medium companies across the ‘Euro 5’ markets in 2013.’

‘You know fleet can be a very frustrating job,’ says Mr Tommaso. ‘You can go to visit new customers for three consecutive months and you sell nothing. SEAT has helped each of the dealers in the programme to recruit a fleet expert because it’s a long-term investment, not with immediate sales, but once they start, you can have daily revenue. It is important to close big deals, maybe with a Blue Chip company, but it doesn’t happen every day, so the imperative is to build a basis for the on-going business, boosted by a strong growth in true fleet sales.’

Mr Tommaso says that fleet customers are looking at the total cost of ownership, not just a discount for the car in the first place. Maintenance, fuel and taxation all contribute to this. ‘In the end, the customer is paying for the gap between the list price, minus the discount and the future residual value. This is the biggest part, so it’s important to protect the residual value to make the gap smaller.’

Mr Tommaso thinks that one of the most significant opportunities to grow SEAT’s international fleet business is the model range. ‘We are now offering models that are designed with an international appeal that are being well received,’ he says. ‘Then we are a member of the Volkswagen Group, so the quality of our products and the Latin design that we have means that we can offer Spanish style with German technology. The fact that we are a member of the Volkswagen Group gives us the opportunity to be offered by VW Group Fleet International (GFI), a division in Germany that is responsible for fleet sales to international customers of all the VW Group brands and this gives us a lot of support.’ SEAT has also recently appointed an international key account manager, Rheinhold Luiz to offer SEAT to international customers and to work with GFI.

The Leon ST – the first ever Leon estate car gives SEAT an additional fleet product, ‘38% of the segment is fleet sales and our aim is to be in the top five in the "Euro 5" markets,’ says Mr Tommaso. ‘We have a lot of assets with this car, a lot of technology, a lot of space. We are the only one in the segment offering 85g/km of CO2 from the 1.6 diesel DSG, we have the largest luggage capacity of 587 litres, rising to 1,470 litres with the rear seat backrests folded and the Leon ST is the lightest estate in its class.

Mr Tommaso also points to the latest study showing best in basket residual value in the EU5 market + Portugal and features such as the optional full-LED headlamps and LED rear lights.

The European financial crisis has shaped the way many companies have approached fleet business and this has affected SEAT too. ‘We saw many deals where the company decided to extend their leasing contracts from three to four years. We saw companies that have decided to downsize the car from big to small and also companies changing brand from premium to generalist brands,’ says Mr Tommaso. ‘We can offer the same technology as luxury, premium brands, the same space, the same shape, similar boot capacity, but at a much lower TCO.

‘For me the new trend is to support the fleet customer in being completely satisfied about its choice through a professional sales approach. The final customer is looking for cars to operate his business. He’s not only buying cars he’s buying computers, printers, telephones, so he does not really have enough time to make the right decision, but he can be helped and supported in making that choice. The SEAT target is to have the customer saying; ‘I made the right choice because I found a partner that is supporting me and understanding my needs, who is helping me make a direct choice and if I have a problem, I can really count on him.'