A new report has found massive and growing links between Western car brands and Chinese Uighur abuses, from hood decals and car frames to engine cases, interior trim and electronics.
The report, by a team of researchers led by Laura T. Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery at Britain’s Sheffield Hallam University, found 96 companies relevant to the auto mining, processing or manufacturing industries in the Uyghur region, among them 38 with documented involvement in labor transfer programs. The authors speak of more than 100 international car and car parts manufacturers Risk getting from these companies.
“Consumers don’t want cars made through exploitation. But a combination of China’s systematic repression of Uyghurs and opaque supply chains has allowed the auto industry to rely on abusive suppliers,” the authors said in a Dec. 7 statement. They say every major car brand – including Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Stellantis (like Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep), Tesla and NIO – is at high risk from business too related to abuses in the Uyghur region.
“Some source electronics from companies that employ trafficked Uyghurs in factories elsewhere in China. Some unwittingly source metals from the Uyghur region because metal trading companies have stakes in Xinjiang smelters. Some of the largest exposures come from steel and aluminum used to make car frames, axles, bodies, engine cases, wheels and brakes. The world’s largest steel and aluminum producers have relocated to the Uyghur region with subsidies and incentives from the Chinese government. But tires, interiors, windshields, batteries and virtually every other vital part are also affected,” the report said.
“The auto industry can’t wait to trace their supply chains back to raw materials,” the authors concluded. “Anything less than full traceability would be a huge legal, ethical and reputational risk.”
