Hell hath no fury like a woman Suzuki scorned. On Thursday, the Japanese carmaker’s CEO, Osamu Suzuki, sent a letter to his counterpart at VW demanding that the German group retracts its statement about Suzuki breaching their 2009 contract.
The spark that ignited this heated war of words between the two partners was Suzuki’s decision to choose Fiat as a supplier of diesel engines instead of VW. The German group said on September 11 that Suzuki had breached their contract with this decision, while Suzuki vehemently denies it violated the terms of their agreement.
A furious Osamu Suzuki said that he wanted to get rid of the VW “ball and chain”, demanding that VW returns its 19.9 stake in Suzuki, which will in turn hand over its 1.9% stake in VW.
Suzuki’s CEO claims that after VW’s diesel engines failed to meet the Japanese carmaker’s criteria, the German group was consulted about negotiating with Fiat thus its allegations of being unaware are false.
In addition, Suzuki also said that his company was denied access to much of VW’s technology despite promises to the contrary when the original deal was sealed.
Though the Germans don’t want a divorce, the Japanese are ready to fight for it. We suspect the “War of the Roses” has just begun.
Story source: Automotive News [Sub.req.]
