VW manager deported from China after alleged Thailand drug use

HONG KONG: A senior Volkswagen AG executive in China was deported to Germany after being held over alleged drug use, according to local police and media reports, as trade tensions escalate between Brussels and Beijing.

Beijing police detained Jochen Sengpiehl, VW’s chief marketing officer and head of product strategy for China, after his return from Thailand on suspicion that he had consumed cocaine and marijuana during the trip, according to the police’s report.

The charge triggered Beijing’s administrative punishment law, requiring Sengpiehl to be held for 10 days through Oct 20, the report dated Oct 10 said.

The German embassy in Beijing had provided consular assistance to Sengpiehl, who was required by China to return home, according to media reports.

Representatives of the embassy didn’t immediately reply to an email from Bloomberg News seeking comment.

A spokesperson for Volkswagen in China declined to comment on the matter, citing labour and data protection law. The story was first reported by German media.

The incident comes at a time when China has been struggling to attract foreign visitors, and as a raft of European and Asia-Pacific airlines cut flights to Asia’s biggest economy, citing muted demand.

Already, relations between China and the European Union are frayed over issues from trade to security, with Brussels slapping tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Beijing responding with levies on EU liquor products.

China has a zero-tolerance policy towards drug use, and has handed out harsh punishments even when actual consumption took place outside the country.

Sengpiehl’s deportation may be a blow to an already embattled VW, which has suffered a sales slump in China, one of its most important markets.

Fierce competition from local EV rivals and a bruising price war have hit deliveries and the automaker’s bottom line.