Gloom deepens in VW's home town, six months after 'Dieselgate'

Wolfsberg, Germany

WHEN Martin Winterkorn dropped by to order some new glasses in the Volkswagen company town of Wolfsburg, he was "visibly dejected", according to his optician. But the visit wasn't last September, when Mr Winterkorn had just quit as the German carmaker's chief; it was this week.

Six months into the "Dieselgate" affair surrounding VW, the mood in Wolfsburg - where almost half the population works at its giant car factory or in related businesses - is as gloomy as Mr Winterkorn's, and shows little sign of recovering.