The last we checked-in with the Suzuki/Volkswagen divorce, the German automobile maker was ordered by the London Court of International Arbitration to sell its 19.9% stake in the Japanese manufacturer (worth $2.8 billion at the time).
That was back in September 2015, and now that ordered has finally been fulfilled, with Volkswagen completely divesting itself from Suzuki – a move that has been four years in the making.
Volkswagen originally took the nearly 20% stake in Suzuki back in 2009, with the hope that the two companies would share technology and collaborate on future vehicles.
Suzuki hoped to gain insight into Volkswagen’s large vehicle design, namely its diesel technology, while Volkswagen hoped to learn from Suzuki’s small-displacement offerings. Contrary to internet speculation, Volkswagen was not looking to make its own motorcycle from the deal.
Though on paper the deal seemed like a smart one, the corporate cultures proved to be too divergent between the brands, and things between the two automotive giants quickly went sour.
With the court of arbitration ruling in favor of Volkswagen, citing that Suzuki did not use VW’s diesel technology as was agreed (Suzuki instead bought diesel engines from Fiat), Suzuki has to pay Volkswagen an undisclosed sum for the divesture.
This is surely a welcomed amount of money for Volkswagen AG, as it deals with the fallout from its Dieselgate scandal.
Source: The Japan Times via AutoBlog
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