Turkish competition authority launches probe into German automotive giants

Duvar English

Volkswagen again delays auto factory in Turkey

The Turkish Competition Authority has launched a probe into German automotive giants Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, state-run Anadolu Agency said on July 1.

The investigation included claims on the maximum speed limits for the radar speed control system and roof hatches, the use of gasoline particulate filters, sensitive information on selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology and AdBlue tanks, the agency said.

The Turkish Competition Authority's announcement came as Volkswagen AG canceled plans to build a car factory in Turkey after the coronavirus pandemic jolted auto markets.

The automaker, Germany’s largest, had been planning to open the factory in the western province of Manisa.

The 1.3 billion euro ($1.4 billion) facility was to build the Volkswagen brand Passat and the Superb, a sedan from its subsidiary Skoda, starting in 2022 with an annual capacity of 300,000 units.

We won't settle next to a battlefield: Volkswagen CEO on Turkey

The factory was previously delayed last October amid Turkey's Operation Peace Spring into northeastern Syria, where Turkish armed forces alongside Ankara-backed Syrian rebel squads drove out the Kurdish People's Protection Forces (YPG) from territory it controlled in the region.

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said in November of last year that the company is reconsidering its decision to locate in Turkey “from a moral point of view,” adding that they can’t lay the foundation “next to a battlefield.”

The project would have marked a milestone in attracting foreign investment for the country that has been plagued by economic woes even before the pandemic.