Volkswagen and Shanghai's SAIC Motor have agreed to sell a factory in China's far western Xinjiang region that drew criticism due to accusations by western governments of human rights violations. The companies also said Wednesday that they were extending their 40-year-old automaking joint venture until 2040,

Germany's Volkswagen Group and its Chinese partner have sold a factory in the Xinjiang region of China, where accusations of forced labor dogged the facility for many years.

SAIC Volkswagen is based in Anting, Shanghai's Jiading district, and has production bases in Nanjing, Yizheng, Urumqi, Ningbo, Changsha, and other Chinese cities. In 2015, it surpassed FAW-Volkswagen Automotive, the JV of FAW Group and Volkswagen, to become the top-selling domestic passenger car company.

The automaker has long been criticized by human rights activists for doing business in the territory, where China has repressed Muslim ethnic groups.

Over the next three years alone, the Group and its brands will bring 40 new models to the Chinese market, half of which will be electrified.

VW and its local partner sold a production site in the Xinjiang region that had previously brought increased scrutiny on the automaker over human-rights concerns.

German car giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it would sell its operations in China's Xinjiang region, where Beijing has been accused of widespread human rights abuses including forced labour.