Chris Bryant, Columnist

Germany's Self-Crashing Car Industry

The big German carmakers are doing a decent job of it themselves.
Photographer: The Washington Post/Washington Post/Getty Images
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Just as Germany's car industry seemed to be turning a corner after the diesel emissions scandal, along comes another potentially credibility-shredding story.

Volkswagen AG (and its Porsche and Audi subsidiaries), BMW AG and Daimler AG may have colluded for decades to agree on technical standards, thereby impeding competition, Der Spiegel reported on Friday. While the scope of any wrongdoing or potential fines are very unclear, these cartel allegations may yet impose a heavy financial and political price on the carmakers.