By Victoria Waldersee and Jan Schwartz
BERLIN (Reuters) - Activists lashed out at Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday over the carmaker's controversial plant in Xinjiang, reflecting similar investor concerns over claims of human rights abuses in the region.
Investors also reiterated their longstanding critique of Oliver Blume's dual role as head of both Volkswagen and Porsche (ETR:P911_p), and the low valuation of Volkswagen stock, which has been in freefall for the past two years with no respite from the listing of Porsche last September.
Chief Executive Oliver Blume acknowledged the fast pace of China's electrification, and outlined Volkswagen's strategy to hold on to its position as market leader - tailoring products to Chinese tastes and building local partnerships.
He did not mention the company's Xinjiang plant in China, a joint venture with SAIC Motor, which has become a sore point for human rights activists as well as some shareholders, including top-20 investors Deka Investment and Union Investment.
Both urged the carmaker to require of SAIC that it conducts an external independent audit of the plant in Xinjiang, where rights groups have documented human rights abuses, including mass internment camps which China denies.
"Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka.
About ten activists, including one topless woman with 'Dirty Money' painted on her back, interrupted executives' speeches, shouting that the carmaker's vehicles were built with forced labour and waving banners that read: 'End Uyghur Forced Labour'.
One threw a cake at Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of Porsche SE, but missed, with crumbs flying in the direction of Volkswagen supervisory board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch who was speaking at the podium.
All activists were rapidly escorted out by security staff.
"A constructive dialogue is important. And a general meeting offers a good opportunity for this. With the exception of a few people, everyone follows the designated guidelines," a Volkswagen spokesperson said.
Haiyuer Kuerban, a Uyghur activist and representative of non-government organisation World Uyghur Congress, is due to speak in the name of the Dachverband Kritische Aktionaere (Umbrella Organisation for Critical Shareholders).
Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour.
Yet, rights groups have said heavy pressure from the state makes it difficult to trust that employees can speak openly, and pointed to reports in Chinese media that the carmaker's suppliers across China source from the Xinjiang region.
Activists from the 'Last Generation' climate group also glued themselves to roads leading to the location of the shareholder meeting in Berlin and protested outside the entrance.
Shareholders flagged rising competition from Chinese EV competitors in China, with BYD outselling Volkswagen as the top passenger car brand earlier this year.
Chinese EV makers, as well as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), threaten not only to weigh on Volkswagen's market share in China but also in Europe, the shareholders warned, asking for clarity on how Volkswagen will defend its position.
(This story has been corrected to fix the surname of Volkswagen supervisory board chairman to Hans Dieter Poetsch, not Hans Dieter Porsche, in paragraph 8)