"The upturn was merely disrupted during the third quarter," the ministry said in its monthly report, adding that problems adapting to the WLTP problems had likely shaved up to 0.4 percentage points off gross domestic product in Europe's largest economy in the third quarter.

"Once these special effects have dissipated, the German economy's upturn will continue," the ministry said in its report, which was released after data showed the economy contracted by 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter between July and September.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; editing by Thomas Seythal)