Volkswagen scraps plans for new Turkey factory over virus

BERLIN, Germany – Volkswagen said on Wednesday, July 1, it will finally not build a controversial new factory in Turkey because of the coronavirus pandemic, scrapping plans for the site previously on hold because of Ankara’s offensive in northeastern Syria.

The German group had last year postponed a decision on whether to go ahead with the factory because of Turkey’s incursion in its war-torn neighbor.

But in the end it was the pandemic that killed off plans for the plant, which would have employed 4,000 people.

Confirming the decision, VW spokesman Christoph Ludewig told Agence France-Presse: “The background is that the coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on car markets and the situation is a different one from pre-corona.”

Last November, VW boss Herbert Diess had defended the decision to put the factory on ice over Ankara’s Syrian incursion, saying that planning for a factory amid the military tensions would be “completely irresponsible.”

The VW executive then said the company would not consider an alternative factory site, but instead look at rearranging production within its existing network if it decided against building the plant in Turkey. – Rappler.com