Volkswagen said on November 26 that it was selling its stake in manufacturing and testing facilities in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region. The New York Times says the sale brings to an end VW’s 12-year stint as the most visible presence in the controversial area.

The carmaker's joint-venture assembly plant in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, as well as two test tracks in the region, drew condemnation from human rights groups  because of persistent reports of human rights abuses related to the country’s crackdown on predominantly Muslim Uyghurs ethnic groups there. The assembly plant, designed to build gasoline-powered cars, was also losing money.

The U.S. and a growing number of European countries bar imports from Xinjiang because of evidence of forced labor there.

Read More: U.S. Senate Investigation Links Automakers to Chinese Forced Labor

According to the Times, BASF, the German chemicals giant, has tried for a year to obtain Chinese government permission to dispose of its stakes in two manufacturing joint ventures in Xinjiang. BASF said on November 26 that it was in negotiations to sell both stakes, but did not identify possible buyers.

The Chinese government, which did not comment on VW's sale, has consistently denied accusations of forced labor in the region.