The Devastating Tianjin Blast Destroyed Thousands Of Brand New VWs

Last night, a massive explosion ripped through the Chinese port city of Tianjin, originating in a warehouse used to store toxic chemicals. Sadly, at least 50 people are known to have died in the blast, with hundreds more injured. Clearly, the human cost of this tragedy is the main concern, but the photographs of row after row of burnt out VWs awaiting shipping have become a vivid depiction of the sheer scale of the blast.

According to a local source picked up by Jalopnik, thousands of brand new VWs were consumed in the crash, including:

• 1065 Touaregs
• 114 Golfs
• 391 Beatles
• 84 Ups
• 257 Tiguans
• 39 SportsVans
• 28 Magotans (a locally-built version of the Passat)

This will naturally result in a huge insurance bill, but VW isn’t the only automaker affected. Renault had a large parking area only 300 metres from the blast point, and reportedly lost 1000 of the 6000 cars parked there.