, Columnist
Volkswagen's 7 Billion-Euro Repair Man
Diess's fate will show far things have changed on cost and culture.
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When Volkswagen AG admitted in 2015 to rigging 11 million cars to cheat emission tests, few people would have guessed its sales would surpass Toyota the following year -- thus securing its crown as the world’s biggest seller of automobiles.
The German carmaker's 2016 earnings, released late on Friday, were marred by 6.4 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in diesel scandal costs, bringing the total to 22.6 billion euros. But net profit still exceeded 5 billion euros, a level beaten by fewer than 20 western European companies last year, Bloomberg data show.