2:56 pm, July 6, 2023
Volkswagen Group stalwart Richard Harrison is to leave the firm after 16 years in order to take ‘a well-deserved career break’.
Harrison, who has spent 16 years at Volkswagen Group, is stepping down from his current position as director of Seat and Cupra UK.
His time at Seat has seen the outfit become a staple of the UK roads, peaking at a three per cent market share and nearly 70,000 sales in 2019.
For the past five years, he has also led the development of Cupra in the UK after the move to make the sporty outfit a standalone brand.
Harrison initially joined the Volkswagen Group as head of sales for Seat UK in 2007, before moving the brands Spanish HQ in Barcelona in 2011.
While there he worked as Seat’s sales director and also enjoyed a stint as global network development director.
He then returned to England go lead Seat in the UK in 2015
Harrison returned to the UK in 2015 to lead the SEAT brand, before adding responsibility for Cupra in 2018.
Commenting on his departure, Volkswagen Group UK managing director, Alex Smith said: ‘Richard’s energy, creativity and undefeatable attitude have been key to Seat and Cupra’s success, be that launching the ground-breaking Seat Stores and the Seat Easy Product offer back in 2016, to going first with our group-wide MEB Agency transformation with Cupra Born over the last year.
‘With Cupra now solidly established as an unstoppable impulse, and the next phase of new products arriving in 2024-25, Richard has chosen the best possible point to hand over the mantle to a new leader, while he takes a well-earned rest with his family, before heading off to enjoy travelling the world.’
Harrison will officially leave his post on August 31 and an announcement on his successor will be made in due course.
