VW works council slams Audi chief's appearance at rally with Trump

Volkswagen works council chief Daniela Cavallo has sharply criticized Audi chief executive Gernot Döllner after the boss of the VW subsidiary appeared at a campaign event alongside US President Donald Trump, reported dpa.

"Several minutes full of racism, sexism, xenophobia, transphobia, denigration of democracy - and then one of our top group representatives steps on stage and engages in active campaign support," Cavallo said in an interview on Sunday, which was made available to dpa.

At a campaign rally in Georgia on Saturday, Trump unexpectedly announced Audi's plans to build its first US production facility in the state. Döllner, who is a member of the VW group board, then took the stage and thanked the US president for his support.

Cavallo said Döllner's appearance contradicted internal Audi guidelines, which ban the carmaker's employees from making public appearances with politicians standing for election in the three months before a vote. Döllner had signed these principles only a few months ago, she said.

The US midterm elections are on November 3, with the Republicans' narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress at stake.

Cavallo also levelled criticism more generally at the Volkswagen board under chief executive Oliver Blume. He had let himself be turned "from a highly questionable political figure, who violates pretty much every one of our corporate values, into a puppet in [Trump's] propaganda show," she said.

The works council head recalled the history of VW, which was founded during the Nazi era and served as a flagship company for Adolf Hitler's regime.