HOW THE SEAT 600 PUT SPAIN ON WHEELS
The project seeks to create a full end-to-end process for the whole construction process of vehicles, identifying defects and autocorrecting them without human intervention. This process, which occurs on a dedicated station, has since been extended to the assembly shop.
“ Having digital twins or having AVASIM is helping our internal processes become faster and more competitive,” adds Markus.“ VR also helps a lot with bringing a car to a series. It’ s a huge job with many departments enrolled.
“ Using VR makes everything faster so that we can optimise our products. Once we launch the product, it’ s already in a much
Take a seat for one of the most pivotal stories in automotive history: the motorisation of Spain.
After the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Spain was in dire economic straits. The nationalists had won, leading to the Franco regime – a dictatorship that lasted until 1975.
The regime created several industries to develop Spain, investing extensively in the nation’ s automotive sector. From this, SEAT – which stands for Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo – was born. SEAT would come to play a major role in the exceptional economic growth of Spain from 1956-1974 in which GDP averaged 6.5 % growth rate year on year; a period which today has earned the moniker of the‘ Spanish Miracle’.
In the late 1950s, SEAT started using designs by FIAT under their licence, assembling them in Spain. From 1957, a whopping 797,319 SEAT 600s and 18,200 SEAT 800s would be manufactured at its Zona Franca factory in Barcelona.
The process created a wealth of new manufacturing jobs and enabled many Spanish families to have their first car thanks to their inexpensive prices which hovered around 65,000 Pesetas( US $ 415.20) without tax.
From 1958 to 1966, the SEAT 600s was the best selling car in Spain, creating a legacy that ensured the automaker far outlasted its origins.