Volkswagen's Seat says nearing profitability

Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Spanish division Seat is nearing profitability as new models boost sales and core European markets grow, Seat boss Juergen Stackmann said.

Seat has been loss-making for about a decade and started selling compact cars in China about two years ago to reduce its dependence on a European home region where auto markets were locked in a crisis.

"We have higher sales now and higher revenue. We are on a good path to sustain the company and to move it lastingly into the profit zone," Stackmann said in an interview at the Paris auto show on Thursday.

Seat sales last year totaled 355,000 cars. For the first eight months of this year, they were up 10.1 percent to 257,800. September numbers haven't been released yet, but Stackmann said sales were still up around 10 percent after nine months of 2014.

He highlighted sales of the revamped compact Leon, whose deliveries have surged around 60 percent this year.

Stackmann declined to say when Seat might become profitable, adding it was more important the brand achieved sustainable profitability than a one-off gain.