As Volkswagen CEO quits, Germany mulls lessons of emissions scandal
Volkswagen鈥檚 emissions scandal has pummeled its stock price, tarnished its image, and forced out its CEO.聽Yet that may be just the tip of the iceberg.
News that the聽German car manufacturer聽had equipped 11 million of its diesel cars around the world with devices to cheat emissions tests also threatens to wound Germany鈥檚 national psyche, one that puts a premium on playing by the rules.
鈥淢illions of people in the world trust our brand, our cars, and our technology,鈥� Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a video message Tuesday, before he stepped down today. 鈥淚 am endlessly sorry that we have betrayed that trust.鈥澛�
While Mr. Winterkorn鈥檚 comments pertained specifically to Volkswagen, he could have been speaking for all of Germany. So-called 鈥淕erman engineering鈥� has helped the country become the third largest exporter in the world. It鈥檚 a hard-earned reputation that explains why Germany鈥檚 reaction to the Volkswagen scandal goes beyond the financial hit it faces.聽
鈥淲hat may make the disaster much worse to many Germans,鈥� writes Rick Noack聽in The Washington Post, 鈥渋s the disrespect show for their values.鈥�
It may be considered clich茅 by some, but Germans do indeed take pride in their precision and obedience to the rules 鈥� values both celebrated and sometimes mocked abroad.
Anyone聽who has visited Berlin or other German cities will inevitably have noticed the聽omnipresent role of both.
For instance, even when there are no cars in sight, German pedestrians often refuse to cross at a red traffic light 鈥� simply because it's against the law.聽
Winterkorn has denied any personal wrongdoing, and a Volkswagen company panel聽聽in the software strategy. The firm's stock has fallen by around 30 percent since the scandal broke last week.聽
It鈥檚 too early to tell how the scandal will reverberate across Germany鈥檚 economy. But some analysts worry that it could damage the country鈥檚 manufacturing sector.
Every seventh job in Germany is , reports The Wall Street Journal. And the industry accounts for a third of Germany's corporate research and development expenses. Germany鈥檚 biggest company, Volkswagen has nearly $226 billion in sales and 600,000 employees.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor聽Angela Merkel called on the company to be 鈥渇ully transparent鈥� to quickly clarify the allegations.
鈥淕iven the difficult situation, what is needed now is full transparency and to clarify the whole process,鈥� she told reporters in Berlin when asked if she feared the scandal could hurt Germany鈥檚 auto industry. 鈥淚 hope all the facts will be put on the table quickly.鈥�
Manuela Kasper-Claridge, head of Deutsche Welle鈥檚 business and science department, about the industry鈥檚 future. In an opinion piece published Tuesday, she argues that the scandal would likely spur an "industry-wide refocusing" to prevent any future recurrences.聽
The sector is in for a period of radical technological change over the next decade or two. As we move toward self-driving, self-parking cars that serve as mobile Internet hotspots and entertainment units and an increasing trend toward clean, low-carbon engines, getting from one place to another promises to be a very different experience a few years down the road.
Come what may, German automakers have every intention of remaining among the best and most innovative world-wide.
But Volkswagen faces a long road to recovery. The company is 聽subject to a criminal investigation in the United States and could face as much as $18 billion in fines.聽Germany has announced that it will investigate whether Volkswagen's emissions data had been falsified in Europe too.
