Car industry Volkswagen in China sells controversial plant in Xinjiang
Volkswagen has sold its controversial plant in the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang. This was revealed to the German Press Agency by company sources.
27.11.2024, 08:56
SDA
The site had long been criticized for human rights violations against members of the Uyghur minority. VW investigated the allegations.
Volkswagen had operated the plant together with the state-owned car manufacturer Saic as a joint venture. Economic reasons were cited as the reason for the sale. The future of the plant had been negotiated for months.
According to circles, the new owner is a Chinese state-owned company from Shanghai. At the same time, the Wolfsburg-based company extended its general cooperation with Saic on Tuesday by ten years until 2040. The previous contract would have expired in 2030.
VW intends to launch a new product offensive from 2026 and bring 18 new models of the core Volkswagen and Audi brands onto the market with Saic by the end of the decade. Of these, 15 will be exclusively for the Chinese market. By 2030, the VW Group aims to sell four million cars a year and thus achieve a market share of 15 percent in China. According to VW, there is no connection between the withdrawal from Xinjiang, which was sealed a few days ago, and the contract extension.
