Volkswagen uses weather technology to keep hail from falling on new cars
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Farmers are blaming an automotive company’s method of car protection for crop failure.
Volkswagen’s “hail cannons”, which stop hail from falling onto new cars outside of the assembly facility in Puebla City, Mexico, are partly responsible for poor crop yields, local farmers allege.
The cannons send shockwaves into the air, pushing apart water particles to prevent them from becoming hail, Peter Campbell, who wrote the story for the Financial Times, explained to CBC Friday.
Volkswagen staff had set the cannons to automatic mode, which meant they emitted shockwaves whenever rain was present.
“The cannons were too effective, and this group of local farmers near to the VW plant were actually claiming that they had no rain from about May or June onwards, which caused their crops to fail,” Campbell said.
Producers can notice a significant change when the cannons go off.
The sky “literally clears and it simply doesn’t rain,” Gerardo Perez, one of the impacted farmers, told AFP on Aug. 21.
Farmers estimate the lack of moisture has caused about 5,000 acres of crops to fail and are seeking about US$3.5 million in compensation.
“The company can take other measures to protect its cars, but people here can’t live off anything but their land,” Rafael Ramirez, a Mexican environmental official, told AFP.
Volkswagen has committed to altering its vehicle protection practices, which includes installing nets above parking lots filled with new cars.
“We will suspend the automatic operation of anti-hail sonic devices near our vehicle storage yards and will only operate them in manual mode when weather conditions determine hail is imminent,” the automaker told The Washington Post on Aug. 24.