German transport minister uses Opel recall to show he’s in control of diesel scandal – opinion

Germany’s transport minister Andreas Scheuer uses the Opel recall “to show the car industry in a high-publicity event who’s in charge of the emissions scandal – the state,” writes Nils-Viktor Sorge for Spiegel Online. “The government is under constant fire because the carmakers have patently walked all over it […] In the Opel case, Scheuer deviates from his often soft line against industry and uses his leeway to discipline Opel,” writes Sorge with reference to Opel’s rejection of hardware retrofits proposed by the government.

Read the article in German here.

For background, read the articles Germany’s 'huge step' to solve diesel crisis leaves NGOs unconvinced, Germany's car-loving transport minister faces clean mobility challenge and “Dieselgate” – a timeline of Germany’s car emissions fraud scandal.