WOLFSBURG has no cathedral, but two glass towers loom over the city. Inside them, robots whisk new Volkswagens into storage racks, an entertaining ceremony akin to a votive offering. The towers also dominate the Autostadt, a sprawling, car-themed entertainment park and VW marketing wheeze, more popular than any other tourist site in Lower Saxony, a big German state.
Since 2000, 33m car pilgrims have paid homage there; last year brought a record 2.42m visitors. (Even more devotees flock to BMW World, a rival in Munich). Those who tire of gawping at vehicles can refuel with VW–made sausages or ice cream. Many drive home in a new VW. Last year 168,000 cars, 28% of all the firm delivered in Germany, drove through the doors of the Autostadt’s showroom.
“People in Germany love cars,” says a VW employee. But public trust in VW is being tested by a scandal involving software to cheat emissions tests, installed on 11m cars sold worldwide. Though most other carmakers are reporting buoyant sales, VW’s were down by 9% year on year in January in Germany, and have fallen in other countries. Its shares are down by two-fifths since the scandal...Continue reading
Source: Business and finance http://ift.tt/1S3LGmu
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