13 saat önce

Volkswagen to sell operations in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region

Volkswagen has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi.

Reuters

Employees work on assembling vehicles at a plant of SAIC Volkswagen in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China. / Photo: Reuters

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.

The firm will sell its factory in the region's capital Urumqi as well as a test track in Turpan to a Chinese company, a spokesperson said in a press release.

The northwestern region is home to several factories that supply multinational companies, including big-name Western brands.

EU denounces forced Uighur labour in China's lucrative apparel industry

Forced labour

VW has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi, which opened in 2013 and in which it has a stake via its partner SAIC.

And this year, Germany's Handelsblatt financial daily reported that forced labour may have been used to build VW's test track in Turpan in 2019.

VW said it had seen no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the project but vowed to investigate any new information that came to light.

Its operations will be sold to Chinese firm Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (SMVIC), the car giant said Wednesday.