Volkswagen's Porsche reputation once again tarnished by dealer arrests

Just when it seemed like Porsche India had driven past a series of legal tussles and business upsets, the legendary sports car maker, owned and managed by the Volkswagen Group is on tenterhooks again. Last week, Porsche and Audi dealers Rashpal Singh Todd (Rashy) and Mandhir Singh Todd (Mikey) were taken into custody by the authorities at the New Delhi airport. According to an HDFC Bank Official who confirmed that they filed an FIR, the alleged wrongdoing involved defaulting on collective bank loans of Rs 2.7 billion.

The Todds, who own Zenica Group, a dealership firm that sells Porsches as well as Audis, and are part of the Volkswagen portfolio, had borrowed from a consortium of banks including HDFC Bank and failed to make payments. Rashy Todd didn't return calls or messages as of the time of going to press. Audi has already reacted by sending a notice to dealers and customers indicating the Todds are no longer associated with them and Porsche, according to a source is going to do the same in a few days. Porsche India officials declined to confirm or deny if they were going to plug on Zenica as well.