In July 2025, in social networks, a viral video became a viral, the author of which captured many Audi brand machines, allegedly awaiting disposal. We checked its reliability.
“Hundreds of new Audi will be sent to the press in Germany - they did not manage to sell them on time. Now cars are forced to dispose of, since the sale at a low price is disadvantageous, and the content costs more than recycling. To tears ... ”-commented on the video in the Telegram channel"Ax+"(2.3 million views at the time of writing this analysis). Similar posts appeared in other channels, for example "The ax live"(505,000 views),"Dual"(322 000) and"Rhymes and Panchi"(201 000). The video also publishes on Reddit And entertainment sites.
The earliest publication of this video, which was discovered "verified", dates from July 13. That day a video Placed On Instagram, user with usautodillers userneum. “These are all new cars, all zero. <...> These all cars will go under the press. These are unsold cars, ”says the voice behind the scenes. “Verified” requested a comment from the owner of this account, however, at the time of publication, the analysis did not receive a response.
On one of the buildings that fell into the frame, the logo with the inscription Retek is visible. This is the name of the German company located in the city of Ilov in the federal land of Lower Saxony. Studying Google Maps and photos of the enterprise on The company's website Shows that the viral video was shot there.
Retek specializes in car dismantling and Trade of spare parts. She collaborates with most large German automakers, including Audi. Enterprise occupies territory with an area of 45,000 square meters. m and annually disassembles up to 6,000 cars for spare parts.
The factory warranty for new Audi cars is valid Four years from the moment of their sale, but with a long warehouse, a simple probability of breakdowns increases. Therefore, back in 2003, the Federal Supreme Court of Germany Recognizedthat if more than 12 months have passed between the production and sale of the car, the machine can no longer be considered new from the plant. The loss of this status does not mean that the machine needs to be disposed of, but the price for it should be reduced, and the discount can reach 25%. In recent years, in Germany there is a problem of overproduction of cars, first of all Elektrokarov: according to Bild, in 2024 only on one logistics platform in Essen accumulated About 6,000 unsold cars. This is associated with the reduced purchasing power of the population and the termination of state subsidies to buy electric cars.
Nevertheless, disposal is the last step that automakers are being decided on. Poorly sold cars are sent to wholesale auctions, then implement them in Eastern Europe or Africa. In addition, part of the unsaturated cars settles in the parks of rolling and leasing companies. In order for the car to be sent without a run, the manufacturer must recognize it unsuitable for sale. This usually happens if the car was damaged during storage (for example, a warehouse or production flooded, as it happened In 2016 at one of the Audi factories), if the party found Production defects Or if the model is outdated. In particular, the viral video captures Audi A6 fourth generation, the production of which has ceased in 2018, which means that even the most new of these machines for more than six years. Such cars may well be recognized as unsuitable for sale and sent for disposal.
However, this does not mean that they will simply be sent under the press, as affirmed in the video. How Explains Audi, in accordance with European legislation 95% of their cars are subject to secondary use or processing. From cars Take out All such details are dismantled, and the empty body is already sent under the press and subsequently for processing.
Thus, the viral video captures the company's site that specializes in disassembling cars for spare parts for their further resale. Machines placed in the warehouse most likely have some damage or simply out of place. They are dismantled, spare parts are sold, and the rest is sent for processing. Therefore, the approval of the author of the video that he shot hundreds of new cars that would soon go under the press, groundlessly.
Photo on the cover: a screenshot of a viral video
Read on the topic:
- Podcast "Chancellor and Berghein". “Beware of the car” - as the Germans first came up with, and then professed their main fetish
- Is the story of Taganrog Truth, who bought an old car for $ 9,000 in the United States, and after the repair sold it for $ 80,000?
- Is it true that Henry Ford invented the conveyor?
- Is it true that Zelensky bought a car belonging to Hitler?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please inform us of this, highlighting the text with an error and by pressing Ctrl+Enter.
