Jun 27, 2008, 11:53 GMT
Berlin - A severe hailstorm over the weekend damaged up to 30,000 brand new Volkswagen cars awaiting delivery to domestic and foreign customers, the company reported from its headquarters in Wolfsburg Friday.
The hailstorm struck the VW assembly plant at Emden on the North Sea coast on Sunday. The vehicles were standing outdoors, many awaiting shipment to customers abroad and others ready for collection by German clients.
VW spokesman Christoph Adomat said that there was as yet no estimate of the total damage, although a German press report suggested the figure could run to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Adomat said all 30,000 vehicles would be rigorously inspected for damage, and 100 VW staff drawn from all over Germany were working overtime to complete the task.
The vehicles are passed through a special light tunnel that detects even minor damage.
'No car will leave unless it is 100-per-cent free of damage,' Adomat said.
The spokesman said VW was insured against hail damage.
Your Talkback on this Story