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On fire:
4,000 luxury cars from Volkswagen are believed to have been lost
Photo: PORTUGUESE NAVY / via REUTERS
A ship loaded with Volkswagen Group cars caught fire in the Atlantic.
The "Felicity Ace" caught fire off the Azores, a VW spokesman confirmed on Friday in a report by the financial news agency Bloomberg.
The crew is now on board, there are no injuries.
VW is currently getting an overview of the situation.
The ship was on its way from the most important loading port of Emden to the USA.
The spokesman left it open how many cars the freighter had loaded.
It is also unclear whether and how badly the cars were damaged.
According to an internal email from the Volkswagen Group in the US, 3,965 vehicles are on board the ship, reports Bloomberg.
An Audi spokeswoman confirmed that vehicles from the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer are on board the ship alongside other VW brands.
There are also around 1,100 Porsche cars, as a Porsche spokesman confirmed.
The affected customers have been contacted by their dealers.
"We are very relieved that the 22 crew members of the merchant ship Felicity Ace are safe," the spokesman said, according to Bloomberg.
A spokesman for Lamborghini in the US declined to comment on the number of vehicles on board or the models affected, according to the report.
Customer mourns souped-up Porsche Boxer Spyder
Some customers expressed their disappointment on social media.
A Twitter user reported that his custom-built Porsche Boxter Spyder was on board the ship.
Prices for the standard models of the vehicle start at $99,650.
The ship sails under the flag of Panama.
The Felicity Ace is around 200 meters long and was built in 2005.
When exactly the ship caught fire is still unclear.
According to Bloomberg, the ship's owner is said to have arranged for the freighter to be towed away on Wednesday evening.
The Navy is on site.
It is not the first time that the Volkswagen Group has suffered major damage on the high seas.
When the "Grande America" caught fire and sank in 2019, more than 2,000 luxury cars went down with the ship - including many Audis and Porsches.
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