Car industry China confirms expulsion of VW manager for drugs

China has confirmed the expulsion of a Volkswagen manager for drug use. The man was detained by the security authorities for ten days, explained Foreign Office spokesman Lin Jian in Beijing.

He was then deported to Germany for consuming cocaine. Lin did not give any further details. Volkswagen did not confirm the case when asked, stating that it would not comment for reasons of labor and data protection law.

According to several reports, the top manager had returned from a stay in Thailand around two weeks ago. The "Bild" newspaper first reported on this. According to his own information available on the Internet, he had been working for VW in the People's Republic for just over two years.

Drug use is severely punished in China

In China, he reportedly tested positive for cannabis and cocaine - drugs that are illegal in China. In Thailand, as in Germany, it is now legal to consume cannabis. However, this does not matter to the Chinese authorities, as the country, which is ruled by the Communist Party, punishes drug use, even if it did not take place in China. Why the manager was tested, however, remains unclear.

The incident comes at a time when Volkswagen is struggling with problems. In China, the world's most important car market, the Wolfsburg-based company is now lagging far behind its Chinese competitors in terms of sales of electric cars. The Group is also trying to find a solution for its controversial plant in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, which it operates with China's state-owned car manufacturer Saic.

SDA