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Suzuki cuts ties with Volkswagen

Japan's Suzuki Motor said Friday it had ended its alliance with Volkswagen and demanded the German auto giant sell back its stake in the Japanese carmaker by November 2012.

Suzuki cuts ties with Volkswagen
Photo:DPA

The company said it would seek arbitration if Volkswagen refused to sell the €112.21 million shares, or 19.89 percent of Suzuki, to the Japanese small-car maker or a third party it designates.

“Today Suzuki terminated the partnership with VW,” Suzuki chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki said in a statement.

He added “Suzuki will be seeking the return of its shares from VW in arbitration. I am disappointed that we have to take this action but VW’s actions have left us with no choice.”

The company said that it notified VW of the termination of the capital alliance as its board approved the action Friday.

But Volkswagen, which has repeatedly refused to accept similar demands in the past, told Dow Jones Newswires that the company planned to keep its roughly 20 percent stake.

The two firms formed a €1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) tie-up in 2009.

Suzuki planned to seek support from Volkswagen in hybrid technologies and other eco-friendly areas, while the German firm hoped to jointly develop small cars for emerging markets by taking advantage of Suzuki’s know-how.

But they made little progress and halted their joint projects.

The Japanese automaker in September said it wanted to end the alliance, citing a deep disagreement over collaboration and complained that its partner failed to provide promised access to technologies.

CEO Suzuki said VW chairman Martin Winterkorn “has not honoured his commitment to grant Suzuki access to what was originally agreed.”

“In the absence of VW’s cooperation and given its failure to do what was agreed, there is no basis for the partnership to continue,” the CEO said.

Ahead of Suzuki’s move towards ending the tie-up, relations had become frayed as Volkswagen served notice of an alleged infringement relating to the supply of diesel engines to Suzuki from Italian carmaker Fiat.

“We will now work to restore the relationship between Suzuki and VW to its original state as independent parties who do not restrict each other’s business,” Suzuki said.

AFP/jcw

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GREENPEACE

Two hospitalized in Munich after activist crashes parachute into Euro 2020 stadium

At least two people were hospitalised Tuesday after a Greenpeace activist crash-landed on the pitch before the Germany-France match at Euro 2020 when his powered parachute microlight struck spidercam cables at Munich's Allianz Arena.

Two hospitalized in Munich after activist crashes parachute into Euro 2020 stadium
The activist lands on the turf of the Allianz Arena. credit: dpa | Christian Charisius

The pilot flew over the pitch just before kick-off in the Group F clash with “Kick out oil” written on the canopy of his parachute.

However, when the pilot hit television cables above the pitch, it knocked his microlight off balance and he landed on the turf after clipping one of the stands, where the casualties happened.

The activist was arrested soon after landing.

A Munich police spokesman told AFP that at least two people suffered head injuries and “both had to be taken to hospital, we don’t know yet how serious the injuries are”.

The police spokesman said the activist appears to have escaped injury, but “we are considering various criminal charges. Munich police has zero understanding for political actions that put lives at risk”.

UEFA also slammed the botched stunt.

“This inconsiderate act – which could have had very serious consequences for a huge number of people attending – caused injuries to several people attending the game who are now in hospital and law authorities will take the necessary action,” European football’s governing body said in a statement.

The parachutist above the stadium. Photo: dpa | Matthias Balk

“The staging of the match was fortunately not impacted by such a reckless and dangerous action, but several people were injured nonetheless.”

The stunt was a protest against German car manufacturer Volkswagen, one of the sponsors of the European Championship, Greenpeace explained in a Twitter post.

“UEFA and its partners are fully committed to a sustainable Euro 2020 tournament and many initiatives have been implemented to offset carbon emissions,” said UEFA.

Greenpeace said they regretted any harm caused.

“This protest was never intended to disrupt the game or hurt people,” read a Twitter post on Greenpeace’s official German account.

“We hope that everyone is OK and that no one was seriously injured. Greenpeace actions are always peaceful and non-violent.”

“Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan.”

READ MORE: Climate activists rage as Germany opts for drawn-out coal exit

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