How the car industry won the EU's trust

European governments have been acting tough with car makers recently, but in reality over the past decade they have viewed the motor industry more as a job-creation partner than a sector in need of scrutiny.

On 22 April, authorities in Germany announced they would recall 630,000 Audi, Mercedes, Opel, and Volkswagen cars. The same week, French authorities raided offices of the PSA Group, which produces Peugeot and Citroen cars.

All of this happened in the wake of Volkswagen's dies...