After Volkswagen said earlier it was “reviewing” its alliance with Suzuki, the Japanese automaker said on Monday said it wanted to end the ill-fated two-year pact.
In a statement through the Tokyo Stock Exchange cited by news agency AFP, Suzuki said it had asked Volkswagen to end the capital and business alliance between the firms and get rid of its stake in the carmaker.
“It’s like a divorce,” Suzuki Chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki told a news conference on Monday. “Rather than trying to find faults in each other, it’s better to smile at each other and say we were not destined (to get married).”
Volkswagen had served notice of an alleged infringement relating to the supply of diesel engines to Suzuki from Fiat with which the Japanese firm shares a model. Suzuki said it decided “to cancel the business partnership and capital ties with Volkswagen AG due to worries that it is difficult to achieve our company’s objectives concerning the business partnership.
“We will ask Volkswagen AG to dispose of (Suzuki) shares in correspondence with our company’s intentions,” it said, adding that it would dispose of its shares in the German automaker.
But a VW company spokesman told AFP it had no plans to unload its shares in Suzuki.
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By GlobalData“We stand by what we’ve always said, and what we said again yesterday,” the spokesman told AFP, pointing to a company statement in which it insisted that Suzuki “remains an attractive investment.”
Chairman Suzuki on Monday cited “differences between our management philosophies” that would compromise the independence of the Japanese firm.
In response to the earlier notice of infringement from Volkswagen, the Japanese carmaker said it believed it did not violate the agreement with the German company.
“We were surprised that Volkswagen showed different views from ours that the engine (procurement) from Fiat is problematic and that the capital tie-up is attractive for stock investment,” Suzuki said.