VW Appoints New SEAT Chief

Volkswagen AG has named Juergen Stackmann to head of its Martorell, Spain-based SEAT unit, starting on May 1.

Stackmann joined the company in 2010 from Ford Motor Co.'s European unit to oversee sales and marketing at VW's Skoda unit in the Czech Republic. He has led VW Group sales and marketing since September.

At SEAT, Stackmann succeeds James Muir, who will take an unidentified senior management job with the VW Group. The company says Muir has been "instrumental" in successfully restructuring SEAT, which he has led for more than three years.

Stackmann's job will be to continue to foster the brand's recovery after years of being battered by Spain's shrinking economy. SEAT sales fell 8% to 321,000 vehicles in 2012, but climbed 9% to 87,100 units in the first quarter of this year.

The unit narrowed its operating loss last year to €156 million. VW has said SEAT could be profitable as early as this year.