Volkswagen and Shanghai's SAIC Motor have agreed to sell a factory in China's far western Xinjiang region that drew criticism due to accusations by western governments of human rights violations. The companies also said Wednesday that they were extending their 40-year-old automaking joint venture until 2040,

Germany's Volkswagen Group and its Chinese partner have sold a factory in the Xinjiang region of China, where accusations of forced labor dogged the facility for many years.

The automaker has long been criticized by human rights activists for doing business in the territory, where China has repressed Muslim ethnic groups.

Earlier this year, the U.S. blocked imports of several Porsche, Bentley, and Audi vehicles amid concerns that they contained a Chinese-made part that violated U.S. forced labor laws.

Over the next three years alone, the Group and its brands will bring 40 new models to the Chinese market, half of which will be electrified.

Based in Anting in Shanghai's Jiading district, SAIC Volkswagen has production bases in Nanjing, Yizheng, Urumqi, Ningbo, Changsha, and other cities. In 2015, it surpassed FAW-Volkswagen Automotive, the joint venture of FAW Group and Volkswagen, to become the top-selling passenger car company in China.

German carmaker Volkswagen is withdrawing from its controversial involvement in a factory in China's Xinjiang province, which has attracted criticism over alleged human-rights abuses of the Uighur minority.

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China's Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.

VW sells assets to address political risks and cut excess capacity, while extending its partnership with to regain market share in China Volkswagen's (VW) sale of a controversial plant in China will come as a relief to the German carmaker,