For the better part of the last decade, Volkswagen->ke94 Automotive Group has been snagging up various automakers and auto groups in an attempt to build an empire that would likely make Darth Vader cower in fear. It looks like one of VW’s Stormtroopers is turning its back on the “Dark Side,” as Suzuki->ke87, a company that VW bought some $2.1 billion worth of shares in 2009, is taking VW to court in an attempt to force VW to return the 19.9 percent of Suzuki stock that it owns.

The issues that run between the two are your typical automotive wah-fest, as Suzuki is boo-hooing over the fact that VW did not share enough technical information with Suzuki, which was a stipulation of the stock sale. VW, on the other hand, is crying foul because Suzuki opted to source a small-displacement engine from Fiat instead of VW. Oddly enough, VW is fighting Suzuki to keep its shares, while Suzuki has filed suit against VW in a London court to force VW to sell its shares back.

Another odd turn of events is the fact that Suzuki is willing to pay market value to VW for said shares, giving Volkswagen a cool $300K to $400K in profit.

Overall, this is a very strange turn of events, as we are not quite sure exactly what in the world VW would want with the Suzuki brand under its umbrella. The brand has been really struggling in the last decade and looks to eventually go the Isuzu->ke1688 route and pull out of the American market altogether. Then again, VW has been apt for turning around struggling car companies, a la Audi.

We’ll keep you posted on any new happenings in this legal battle.

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