SEAT Ronda - The Dispute With Fiat

The Dispute With Fiat

In 1982 took place the end of the co-operation between SEAT and the automaker Fiat which had lasted almost 30 years. Conforming to the end of partnership agreement signed by the two automakers, SEAT had to quickly restyle its entire model range in order to be able to offer its models on sale, so that its cars would be now more distinct to those of the Italian firm. This would be marked by a change in SEAT's own logo and the first car under the new SEAT logo without Fiat involvement appeared that same year in 1982 : this was the SEAT Ronda.

The launch of that model though sparked a lawsuit from Fiat against SEAT, as the former claimed the car was still too similar to a car in Fiat's own range, the Fiat Ritmo. In defence of SEAT, the then president of SEAT, Juan Miguel Antoñanzas, showed a Ronda to the press with all the parts different from the Fiat Ritmo painted in bright yellow, to highlight the differences. An El País journalist who covered the trial claimed that the result was spectacular.

The case was eventually taken to the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris which in 1983 declared that differences between the cars were sufficiently substantial for the Ronda not to be judged as a rebadged Ritmo, ending the dispute in favour of SEAT. This also meant that SEAT was free to export the Ronda, although the car never sold particularly well outside of Spain. Rumour at the time had it that Fiat was angry because the Ronda restyling was in fact too close to their own planned restyling for the Fiat Ritmo, which they had to scrap.