Germany's economy has been hard hit by the scandal at Volkswagen, but will not be negatively affected in the long term. That is the view of several leading figures, including Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Image: Reuters/M. Blake
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Leading German figures from politics and industry on Sunday downplayed the effect the emissions-cheating scandal at Volkswagen would have on Germany's economy in the long term.
The head of the European Parliament, German Social Democrat Martin Schulz, told a newspaper group that not just the German economy, but the company itself would recover, although he had hard words to say about VW's behavior.
"It's a heavy blow for the German economy as a whole," Schulz was quoted by the group as saying.
Schulz accused VW of betraying its customers and workersImage: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Hoslet
"It's hard to believe what was done there negligently and possibly even with criminal energy. But I believe that Volkswagen is a strong company that has every chance of surviving the crisis," he said.
He added, however, that this recovery was dependent on what steps were taken to remedy the effects of the scandal.
"Whether Volkswagen, and whether Germany regains the trust that has been lost will also be decided by how the scandal is resolved," he said, calling for those responsible to be quickly brought to justice.
'Surmountable' scandal
Chancellor Angela Merkel also acknowledged the magnitude of the scandal, but said it would not cause lasting damage to Germany's business reputation.
"It is, of course, a dramatic event that is not good," she told public service radio station Deutschlandfunk in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
"But I think the reputation of German industry, the confidence in the German economy, is not so shaken that we are no longer considered a good place to do business."
The company's incoming chairman, Hans Dieter Poetsch, was also quoted by newspaper "Welt am Sonntag" as saying that although the scandal threatened VW's viability, it was "surmountable."
Pötsch voiced confidence in VW's futureImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Kay Nietfeld
Sky-high fines
The carmaker has set aside 6.5 billion euros ($7.5 billion) to help cover the costs of the scandal, which unfolded after US authorities discovered that many VW diesel vehicles had been fitted with illegal software that enabled cheating on emissions tests, giving much better results than under road conditions.
However, some analysts think the final bill could be much higher, with VW admitting that up to 11 million diesel vehicles have been equipped with the software and will need to be refitted.
The company is also likely to face massive fines in the United States for contravening its emissions laws, and several other countries and international customers have announced that they are looking into taking legal action as well.
'Not a victimless crime'
Environmental engineers and scientists commissioned by the Associated Press to study the effects of VW's cheating on human health and the environment have meanwhile concluded that pollution produced by VW diesel vehicles in the US might have killed between five and 20 people annually in recent years.
Volkswagen - a global company
VW Group has factories at 119 locations globally and employs 600,000 workers in 20 European nations plus 11 countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa. VW's first factory was built at Wolfsburg in 1938.
Image: Volkswagen
Every second VW is sold in China
VW Group was one of the first Western companies to invest in China as its economic transformation began in the mid-1980s. In the northern Chinese City of Changchun, VW entered into a joint venture with China First Automotive Group. VW opened a new engine factory in the same city in 2013.
Image: VW
A picture from an untroubled recent past
"A German masterpiece - you can trust us," it says on this ad for the VW Passat in China. VW's investment in China has been a success story. There are now 13 VW factories in China, with the newest having opened in May in the southern Chinese city of Changsha.
Image: imago/T. Frey
In India, small cars are the big priority
VW has three factories in India. The factory "Volkswagen Group India" operates in Pune and is one of the most modern production facilities in VW's global portfolio. In 2010, the production of the 11,111,111th VW Polo was celebrated in the presence of the then German President, Horst Köhler.
Image: Volkswagen
VW's long tradition in South Africa
Volkswagen of South Africa, based in Uitenhage near Port Elizabeth, has a corporate history of nearly 80 years - beginning just four years after VW was founded in Germany. About 120,000 automobiles are produced annually in Uitenhage. In August, VW announced it will modernize and expand the factory. South Africa is among the many global markets where VW faces tough competition from Toyota.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Loyalty to Russia
Despite the currently frosty relations at the top political level, many German companies - including VW - remain faithful to Russia. VW is the biggest foreign investor in the Russian automobile sector. Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev was on hand for the opening of VW's new engine factory in Kaluga in early September, which has a production capacity of 150,000 motors annually.
Image: Volkswagen
Slow sales in the USA
When a new VW factory was opened in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2011, VW had big ambitions for the US market, but sales have remained below target. VW heir and boss Ferdinand Piëch admitted that: "We understand Europe, we understand China, but we don't really understand the USA." Some experts are suggesting VW should pull out of the US market in the aftermath of the diesel emissions scandal.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Mexican success stories
VW has been producing cars in Puebla in Mexico for nearly 60 years. Volkswagen de Mexico is the town's biggest employer, with 15,000 workers. The old VW Beetle was produced here until 2003. Now the Puebla factory produces Passat, Jetta and New Beetle model cars, which are exported from here to more than 100 countries.
Image: Volkswagen
¡Buen día Volkswagen!
Volkswagen has seven production locations in Latin America. VW Argentina is headquartered in Cordoba, the country's second largest city, where the VW factory employs about 1,500 workers. Here, transmissions and other components are produced for VW's entire global supply chain.
Image: Volkswagen
In Brazil, minibuses are in high demand
Brazil hosts seven VW factory locations and is VW's third-biggest national production center after Germany and China. The factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo was founded in 1953. Over time, Volkswagen do Brasil has made its mark by developing its own models - including these minibuses - aimed at South American and African markets.
Image: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images
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They said the death toll in Europe could be much higher, going into the hundreds annually, owing to the larger number of VW diesels sold, but cautioned that American computer models could not be easily translated to the more densely populated Europe.
The VW vehicles that passed emissions tests only with help the so-called "defeat device" belched out between 10 to 40 times more nitrogen oxides than allowed under US law, environmental authorities say.
