A SEAT spokesman recently mentioned to a British newspaper (must be true news, then) that SEAT are looking at the possibility of pairing up with Chinese automotive giant, First Automotive Works (FAW) in the near future. SEAT have since become a subsidiary of VW but previously worked with Fiat.
One of the first cars that SEAT would plan to introduce in China, would be something in the AO class. Furthermore, rather than rolling out nationwide, SEAT would first test market conditions along the Eastern sea board of China before rolling out nationwide. We think this could mean that SEAT would first import cars into China and sell from FAW dealers before rolling out the tooling and machinery required to make their motors in the PRC.
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There’s already Seat-based car in China! Like the Nanjing Soyat (which used the tooling of the 80s’ Seat Ibiza) and the Chery Windcloud (which used the tooling of a 90s’ Seat Toledo.)