(Reuters) -German automaker Volkswagen’s China chief marketing officer and head of product strategy, Jochen Sengpiehl, was deported back to Germany after being detained in China for about 10 days, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Sengpiehl allegedly tested positive for drugs after a holiday abroad, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that the company is reviewing the matter internally.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Office confirmed to the FT that its embassy in Beijing had “provided consular assistance and was in regular contact with the concerned individual and his family as well as with the local authorities.”
Volkswagen and Germany’s Federal Foreign Office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a comment outside regular business hours.
The news comes as the German carmaker has been struggling with weak demand for its core passenger car brand and competition from China. Volkswagen’s deliveries to China, the world’s biggest car market, fell by 15% to 711,500 vehicles in the third quarter.
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
