China probes executives at Volkswagen joint venture

China today launched investigations against a former and a current executive of Volkswagen AG's joint venture for serious violation of laws, the latest in a series of foreign luxury car makers facing the heat in the world's largest auto market.
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China said Li Wu, former deputy general manager of FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co Ltd in northeast China's Jilin Province, and Zhou Chun, deputy general manager of the carmaker's Audi sales department, are being probed for suspected "serious violations of laws."
Li is also the former general manager of the FAW-Volkswagen's sales department.

The Chinese anti-corruption agency did not specify what crimes the two executives are suspected to have committed.
FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co Ltd is a joint venture between FAW Group Corporation, one of China's largest state-owned carmakers, and German auto giant Volkswagen.
The agency said in a statement that the probe was launched after "problems and clues" were found by an inspection team dispatched to FAW Group Corporation.

Volkswagen and Audi were among a number of multinational firms being investigated for violations of anti-monopoly laws and asked to pay hefty fines.
The country's top economic planner and pricing regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission, said earlier this month that Audi has pursued monopolistic practices in China in its sales of spare parts and aftermarket services.

After the crackdown began, Audi cut prices for its spare parts last month while Mercedes has dropped prices of its spare parts twice in the last few months.
Earlier this month, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China expressed concern over the series of antitrust investigations, saying Beijing was using strong-arm tactics and appeared to be unfairly targeting foreign firms.
China rejected the allegations and said all companies, local and foreign, were being treated the same under the law.
Last year, Chinese consumers bought about 2.7 million more new domestic and foreign brand vehicles than American buyers. In the first six months of this year, the Chinese market leads by almost 3.7 million, making it the world's largest auto market for four years in a row.