The "Made in Germany" brand has not been damaged by the Volkswagen scandal, but the carmaker needs to deal with the matter in a transparent manner, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday in her weekly podcast. Almost six weeks after it admitted using illegal software to falsify US diesel emissions tests, VW is under pressure to identify those responsible, fix up to 11 million affected vehicles and convince regulators, investors and customers it can be trusted again. "A lot will depend on how Volkswagen deals with the issue," Merkel said, adding that VW could recover if it acts transparently.