Germany's top appeals court quashed on Tuesday a lower court's decision to back a settlement by Volkswagen over directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage in the so-called dieselgate case, Reuters reported.

Germany expects the United States to apply a 15% tariff rate to pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks, a government spokesperson said during a regular press conference on Monday, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new import tariffs last week, including 100% duties on patented drugs and 25% levies on heavy-duty trucks, triggering fresh trade uncertainty.

Bosch will cut around 13,000 extra jobs at its auto-parts business by 2030, representing about 3% of its global workforce. The cuts, which come on top of thousands of job losses at Bosch in recent years, will mainly affect positions in Germany. The company’s base in the Stuttgart region is set to be the hardest hit, while sites in areas such as Feuerbach and Schwieberdingen will see thousands of job cuts. The engineering giant is seeking to claw back €2.5 billion in losses “as quickly as possible” as Europe’s car industry remains in the doldrums.

German automotive supplier Kiekert has applied for insolvency, according to a court document seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Two core businesses - Kiekert AG and Kiekert Holding GmbH - have initiated insolvency proceedings and Joachim Exner has been appointed as administrator on an interim basis, the document showed. Kiekert, which specialises in locking systems, has 4,500 employees in 11 locations, according to its website.

Confidence among German businesses fell back for the first time this year, according to a survey that adds to worrying signs for Europe’s most important economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Ifo Institute said on Wednesday that its business-climate index declined to 87.7 in September from 88.9 last month. That decrease breaks a streak of gradually improving sentiment among German companies unbroken since the start of 2025, and overturns economists’ expectations for a further uptick in the index.

More German companies in Japan see the country as a manufacturing hub for Asia — and not just as a sales market — with stability, affordability and proximity to major markets cited as top draws, according to a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan), the Japan Times reported. Regulatory robustness and relative affordability of operation, due to the weakness of the yen against the euro, contribute to Japan being an attractive choice for manufacturers.

The number of German business insolvencies registered in the first half of the year jumped 12.2% from a year earlier, the statistics office said on Thursday, highlighting the challenges for Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government in its efforts to revive economic growth, Reuters reported. Final results showed that local courts registered a total of 12,009 insolvencies in the first six months of 2025.

German industrial production rebounded in July despite a further plunge in exports to the U.S., indicating the sector’s resilience in the face of tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Industrial output in Europe’s largest economy jumped 1.3% on month, the first rise since March, while June’s data was also revised upward to a decline of just 0.1% from the 1.9% slump originally reported, according to Germany’s statistics agency Destatis on Monday.