Volkswagen seeks damages from Prevent in ongoing legal dispute

FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen logo is seen at a construction completion event of SAIC Volkswagen MEB electric vehicle plant in Shanghai, China November 8, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song

HAMBURG/FRANKFURT: Volkswagen is seeking more than 100 million euros (US$112 million) in damages from former supplier Prevent, it said on Tuesday, adding it had filed a first claim for one of its subsidiaries.

The row dates back to 2016, when suppliers ES Guss and Car Trim stopped supplies shortly after being acquired by Prevent in a bid to raise prices, causing production losses at six of Volkswagen's factories in Germany.

Volkswagen has filed a first claim for its Skoda unit with the Brunswick regional court, it said, adding that the Dresden higher regional court would determine which courts are responsible for further damage claims.

Funke-Mediengruppe first reported about the lawsuit.

Prevent did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of business hours. The supplier in November filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen claiming damages of more than US$750 million.

(Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Tom Sims; Writing by Christoph Steitz, editing by Thomas Escritt)