Misleading Images Go Viral Again, Falsely Attributing to The Volkswagen Factory in Kuliyapitiya

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Volkswagen Factory in Kuliyapitiya has been one of the points of discussion in the political debates in Sri Lanka over the past few years. Especially closer to election periods, such conversation often flares up more regularly.

Social Media Posts

A photo circulating on social media claims to depict the current state of the Volkswagen factory in Kuliyapitiya, Sri Lanka. The image allegedly shows abandoned Volkswagen cars.

FB | Archived

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check

Origin of the Photo:

We did a reverse image search of the image and noticed that it had been shared among social media users in 2019. Here is one such instance. Archived.

Our investigation revealed that the photo's setting resembles the car graveyard in the USA and is not connected to the Kuliyapitiya site.

Here is another video from the same abandoned Volkswagen car site, regularly attracting old car enthusiasts and photographers.

Kuliyapitiya factory

Here is a video about the Kuliyapitiya factory from 2020. Here is a news report from Silumina from 2021 detailing how the Kuliyapitiya factory had been abandoned.

Current Status:

Western Automobile Assembly: Western Automobile Assembly is the company actually associated with the project. We contacted the company, which denied the viral image and confirmed that although the factory has been set up, production has not yet started.

Future Plans: According to company sources, production will start in 2024. A press briefing is expected to provide further details, including which brands of vehicles will be assembled.

We also noticed several recent advertisements on social media recently, mentioning vacancy opportunities for Technical Trainees at the Western Automobile Assembly Plant in Kuliyapitiya, as seen here.

Background of the Kuliyapitiya Factory:

Initiation: The factory project was initiated in the first week of January 2017 as a vehicle assembly plant. The government, including the Ministry of Media, announced that it was a Volkswagen assembly factory. Such posts can be read here.

Volkswagen's Denial: Shortly after the foundation stone was laid, Volkswagen officially confirmed that they were not connected to the project. More details can be read here.

Prime Minister's Statement: Then, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe later clarified that Volkswagen was not involved due to legal issues. Details from here

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Conclusion

The claim that the photo depicts the current situation of the Volkswagen factory in Kuliyapitiya is false. The factory is not a Volkswagen assembly plant in Kuliyapitiya; the photo is not from Sri Lanka. The factory is associated with Western Automobile Assembly, and according to company sources, it is expected to commence vehicle assembly operations within 2024.

This is not the first time that old and unrelated images were shared in Sri Lanka, linking them to the Kuliyapitiya factory. Here is one such image from 2018, from an explosion site in Tianjin, China, back in 2015.

Therefore, it is crucial for users to exercise caution and verify the authenticity of the information before sharing it to prevent the further spread of false claims and potential harm.