FAW has not received notification from VW regarding intellectual property theft

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai August 9) - Reports have appeared in the foreign media over the last month that FAW Group has illegally copied various engine and gearbox technology of its partner of thirty some years, Volkswagen. Earlier this week, FAW officially responded to the allegations. According to a report appearing in the Beijing Times today, FAW has not received any sort of notification of potential intellectual property rights infringement from VW.

"We have not received any official letter from VW's German headquarters," a representative from the manufacturer stated. "If VW believes we have indeed infringed on their property rights, as our partner, they would first discuss it [privately] with us, and not go through the press," the representative added. When asked why FAW did not immediately respond to media allegations, the representative said that, given the lack of any notification from VW, the manufacturer's leaders saw there was no need to respond to baseless speculation.

Rumors of property right infringement first appeared in German business daily Handelsblatt. According to the original report, FAW was copying VW-patented technology, including the EA111 engine and MQ200 transmission, for its own brand Besturn B50, which is scheduled to be exported to Russia. There are suspicions that the rumors may have been started by VW staff discontent with the increasing scale of cooperation between the two companies.

China is currently VW's largest market, with the manufacturer having sold a total of 1.3 million vehicles in the country in the first half of the year. The manufacturer, which currently possesses joint venture partnerships with SAIC and FAW, has plans to expand production in the country. VW and FAW signed an agreement three months ago to continue their partnership for another 25 years.