VW sales in China fell 12% in the first nine months of 2024, losing popularity to local manufacturers.
German carmaker Volkswagen has sold its plant in the Chinese province of Xinjiang after multiple allegations of forced labor. The region is home to the Muslim Uyghur minority, which faces oppression. Bild reported this on Wednesday, November 27.
According to the UN and human rights organizations, so-called “re-education camps” operate in Xinjiang, where many human rights violations have been recorded, including the use of forced labor.
The plant opened in 2012 with Chinese partner SAIC. This is the first car production in the region, the cost of the project is 170 million euros.
Volkswagen management has long denied that there is evidence of human rights violations at the site. However, pressure from the international community continues to grow. In September of this year, more than 50 parliamentarians from different countries called on the company to leave the region.
Earlier, the head of Volkswagen’s Chinese division, Ralf Brandstetter, said the concern had not found any violations at the plant and planned to continue working. However, criticism and declining sales forced the company to reconsider its plans.
VW sales in China fell 12% in the first nine months of 2024, losing popularity to local manufacturers.
Despite this, VW CEO Thomas Schaefer emphasized that the group remains committed to a strategic presence in the Chinese market.
Let’s recall that it was previously reported that Volkswagen, for the first time in its 87 years of existence, announced its intention to close factories in Germany.
Volkswagen subsequently announced tough cost-cutting measures, including closing at least three factories in Germany, cutting employee wages and outsourcing some departments abroad.
Source: korrespondent
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