Volkswagen says to sell operations in China’s Xinjiang


By AFP
November 27, 2024

VW has long come under scrutiny over its factory in the city of Urumqi - Copyright AFP/File Tobias SCHWARZ

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

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

Rights campaigners have for years accused Beijing of a crackdown against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labour and detention camps.

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

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.

– Forced labour allegations –

Beijing stands accused of incarcerating over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across Xinjiang.

Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses take place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination.

A UN report in 2022 detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence — as well as forced labour — in the region.

But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions a “genocide”, as the United States and some Western lawmakers have done.

Calls had grown louder for VW to reconsider its business activities in Xinjiang after German chemicals giant BASF announced this year that it would accelerate its exit from two joint ventures there.

An external audit commissioned by VW last year found no evidence of forced labour among the plant’s 197 employees.

But the consultancy that wrote the report acknowledged “the challenges in collecting data” for audits in China.

The Turpan test track was not part of the audit.

In response to the VW forced labour report, China urged companies not to be “blinded by lies” about its rights record in Xinjiang.

Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.

Vietnamese EV maker Vinfast reports $550 million Q3 loss


By AFP
November 27, 2024

A Vinfast electric car travels down a street in Hanoi - Copyright AFP Nhac NGUYEN

Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast reported a net loss of $550 million for the third quarter, less than the same period last year as the firm recorded an uptick in sales.

The communist state’s first homegrown car manufacturer is aiming to compete with global EV giants such as Tesla.

VinFast shares have fluctuated wildly since debuting on the Nasdaq in August 2023, at one point soaring to a market value bigger than Ford and General Motors before lurching downward.

Late Tuesday, VinFast said its third-quarter net loss was down 14.8 percent compared with last year’s July-September period, according to its unaudited financial results.

The company said it delivered almost 22,000 vehicles in the quarter, an on-year increase of 115 percent.

Revenue for the quarter stood at $511 million, an on-year jump of 49 percent.

“We expect to finish 2024 on a strong note and meet our 80,000 vehicle delivery target,” VinFast chairwoman Thuy Le said in a statement.

VinFast last year reported a net loss of $2.39 billion, up 14.7 percent from 2022.

With 173 showrooms globally, the company is trying to crack markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Canada.

The company is scheduled to open factories in Subang, Indonesia and in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu next year.

Earlier this month, CEO Pham Nhat Vuong and parent group Vingroup said they would inject $3.5 billion in new funding into the company.

The goal is to achieve the break-even point by the end of 2026.

Vuong, Vietnam’s richest person, was appointed CEO of VinFast earlier this year. He is also chairman of parent firm Vingroup.