AUTOS

VW Says Audit Clears the Company: Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen tried to put to rest industrial espionage allegations by announcing that an independent audit uncovered no evidence that VW benefited from stolen GM documents. But General Motors Corp. called the VW-commissioned probe a whitewash. The charges have dogged VW since it hired away GM cost-cutting whiz Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua in March. German prosecutors said they are continuing their criminal investigation of the former GM purchasing chief. GM’s German subsidiary, Adam Opel, claims that Lopez and his associates systematically looted GM of proprietary documents and computer files--including model blueprints worth millions of dollars. Meanwhile, Volkswagen said it expects to lose about $1.17 billion this year, since huge losses at its Spanish unit have spoiled any hope of a corporate turnaround.