Thousands of luxury vehicles under the Volkswagen Group’s umbrella have been confiscated at US ports on suspicions of violating anti-forced labor laws.
According to undisclosed sources cited by the Financial Times, the group was unaware of the origin of a prohibited component found in the seized vehicles, which was supplied indirectly from China.
The company promptly informed US authorities after being alerted by the supplier about the issue. The seized vehicles include approximately 1,000 Porsches, several hundred Bentleys, and several thousand Audis. The specific models involved have not been specified, but they include cars manufactured abroad, such as the Audi Q8 e-tron.
Allegedly, the luxury vehicles destined for the US market contravene the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which prohibits the importation of goods originating from the Xinjiang region, where forced labor of ethnic minorities is suspected.
The problematic component is a small electronic part within a larger control unit. However, the exact source of this component remains unknown. Volkswagen operates a plant in partnership with SAIC in China, which began operations a decade ago.
This facility has faced allegations of worker mistreatment, leading activists to disrupt the group’s annual meeting last year. The automaker stated that it takes human rights violations seriously.
Volkswagen intends to inform each affected customer about the status of their vehicles and while finding a replacement part may take time, the potential public relations fallout from the vehicles entering the US and then being discovered could have been catastrophic.
Given its experience with the Dieselgate scandal, Volkswagen is keen to avoid any incidents that might undermine its efforts, particularly in the era of electric vehicles. Volkswagen’s situation is not unique. Recently, Ford has also faced scrutiny for alleged Chinese involvement in its Michigan battery plant.
