SEAT Vice-president for Sales and Marketing and CUPRA CEO Wayne Griffiths has been awarded with the Eurostars prize in the ‘Sales & Marketing’ category, which is given every year by the prestigious publication Automotive News Europe. The magazine singled out his contribution to SEAT obtaining the best ever results in its history and the launch of the new CUPRA brand. The award ceremony is going to take place next Monday 9th September with more than 70 automotive sector leaders in attendance in the framework of the IAA 2019, which is being held in Frankfurt.
Wayne Griffiths emphasised that “this award is a recognition of the hard work carried out by the whole team at SEAT in recent years to position the brand as Europe’s fastest growing brand, which is now well-established and with a future ahead. Furthermore, CUPRA is exceeding all expectations and has experienced a 40% growth in sales in its first year of existence. The Automotive sector is undergoing a complete transformation and at SEAT we have the mindset and positioning to look to the future with optimism.”
SEAT, breaking one record after another
Griffiths’ contribution as the company’s Vice-president for Sales and Marketing was decisive for SEAT to obtain the best results in its history after increasing operating profit by 33.4% and achieving the record figure of 254 million euros. The sales record reached in 2018, and commercialising models with a greater contribution margin both boosted SEAT’s operating profit. In 2018, the company sold a total of 517,600 vehicles, up 10.5% from 2017.
SEAT has continued the same dynamic throughout 2019, reaching the highest sales figure in its history in the first six months of the year. The company’s global deliveries went up by 8.4% for a total volume of 314,300 cars. As for CUPRA, the new brand also closed a record first half of the year with sales totalling 12,700 cars, which is 73.1% more than in the same period of 2018.
About Wayne Griffiths
The award will be given during the IAA Frankfurt International Motor Show 2019.
Wayne Griffiths has been the Vice-president for Sales and Marketing at SEAT since 2016, as well as CUPRA CEO and a member of the brand’s Board of Directors since 3rd December 2018. Born in Dukinfield (UK) in 1966, Griffiths started his career by working in his father’s dealership prior to beginning his studies in International Management and German language in Leeds.
Griffiths has been associated with the Volkswagen Group for a long time. In 1989 he started working for Audi AG, and after a two-year stint at SEAT from 1991 to 1993 he returned to Audi, where he held several positions of responsibility in the Commercial division. He was later appointed assistant to the Audi AG Board member in charge of the Commercial area. From 1997 to 1998 he led the International Retail Marketing area and as of 1998 he held various responsibilities in the Sales division of Audi AG. From 2005 to 2013 he was in charge of Sales in the European export markets.
