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.

bur-oho/je/dhc

Volkswagen