German ministers and representatives of car industry are all set hold a meeting to discuss ways to tackle pollution and restore the tarnished reputation of the nation’s auto industry.

While finding and implementing new ways to cut pollution is necessary for the country to stave off bans on diesel vehicles, the government and car executives are also struggling to restore reputation of the auto industry that was tarnished due to Volkswagen (VW) diesel emissions test scandal.

In Sept. 2015, car giant VW admitted to cheating diesel emissions tests in the United States. The admission tarnished the reputation of the German auto industry as well as cost VW more than $25 billion in fines and compensation.

Chancellor Angela Merkel-led government came under fire for not doing enough to cut pollution as well as for being unduly close to big carmakers. However, ministers are wary of damaging an industry that provides more than 800,000 jobs.

Armin Laschet, the premier of the North-Rhine Westphalia region, “We still need a strong auto industry. We want our carmakers to continue to be successful in the world and to carry on building the best cars. We need to save diesel... but there must also be a new push into the electric era.”

Meanwhile, multiple carmakers, including BMW, Audi, Porsche and VW, are being probed by EU regulators for alleged anti-competitive conspiracy.