BERLIN: The pollution cheating scandal that has engulfed auto giant Volkswagen touches one of the main nerve centres of the German economy, given the importance of the car sector both politically and economically.
Germany's mighty automobile sector includes the world's biggest and best-known names, from VW itself to high-end makers like BMW, Daimler/Mercedes-Benz, and Opel, the German arm of US giant General Motors.
But it also includes some of the world's leading parts suppliers, such as Bosch, Continental and ZF Friedrichshafen as well as myriad small and medium-sized enterprises all along the value chain.
The sector clocked up combined annual sales of 385 billion euros ($430 billion) last year, or 14 percent of Germany's gross domestic product (GDP).
Already some industry observers, such as analysts at CMC Markets, are expressing concern about the "spill-over effects" the Volkswagen scandal will have on the wider German economy in the weeks and months ahead.
More than five million cars rolled off the production line in Germany last year. Europe's top economy is the fourth biggest producer of cars in the world after China, the United States and Japan. And it is the leader in Europe.
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