Visiting an automaker is always something special. I worked for 25 years in OEM lighting teams, so I know what it’s like: how proud you are about your brands, your designs, your products, and your teams.
Visiting an old friend I’ve met with at events and technical meetings over the last 20 years — DVN, ISAL, VISION, GTB, OICA — is also something special. When I was a competitor, this sort of visiting was not possible. But with DVN, it is entirely possible! I have tried with this week’s article to give an impression of what is behind the scenes and how Carlos and his team work closely with design, and how they have built a totally new brand, Cupra, based on SEAT DNA. Interesting!
SEAT has long been a pioneer brand in lighting. Their first full LED headlamp was installed in 2012 (see DVN article), and last year Cupra revealed their first microLED headlamps on the Terramar (made by ZKW) and the Leon and Formentor (by Forvia Hella). For such a ‘small’ player — 600,000 vehicle per year, 60/40 Cupra/SEAT split — this is really fantastic to see how lighting has become an important part of the brand DNA. That is demonstrating also the really interesting ecosystem of Barcelona region and Spain countries for automotive lighting.
Thank you Carlos Elvira for the invitation and the visit!
Sincerely yours,
