China’s Xinjiang region has been accused of using forced labor for years. Now VW has sold its plant, citing economic reasons

London CNN —

Volkswagen has sold its plant in Xinjiang — a Chineseregion beset by accusations of human rights abuses — citing “economic reasons.”

“There is no business case for (the plant),” said a spokesperson, noting that it produced combustion engine vehicles until 2019 and, since then, has effectively operated as a distribution center for models produced in other factories.

Citing “huge pressure” from rival carmakers that churn out electric vehicles, the spokesperson said Volkswagen needs “to accelerate the transformation of (its) production network” and that “demand for combustion engine vehicles is going down.”

Sales of electric cars are rising in many countries and, in China, they could account for 45% of all car sales this year, according to the International Energy Agency.

The German automaker announced the sale of the facility, which it owns as part of a joint venture with China’s SAIC Motor, in a press release Wednesday.

TheVolkswagen spokesperson told CNN that SAIC-Volkswagen sold the plant, located in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi, to SMVIC, a subsidiary of Shanghai Lingang Economic Development Group, but declined to disclose the value of the sale.

Volkswagen cars pictured in Wolfsburg, Germany on October 28, 2024.

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The sale comes after governments and human rights groups have, for years, accused China of using forced labor and committing other abuses, such as mass detentions, in Xinjiang against the Uyghur Muslim minority group.

In 2020, CNN obtained access to Chinese government records revealing detailed surveillance of Uyghur families and Beijing’s justification for mass detentions. The documents showed that officials were