Volkswagen: Switzerland halts sale of some diesel-engine models

The manufacturer has said that it could affect up to 11 million cars.

Dobrindt said Europe would agree on new emissions tests in coming months that should take place on roads, rather than in laboratories, and that random checks would be made on all manufacturers.

Former chief executive Martin Winterkorn stood down this week and said he was “not aware of any wrong doing on my part” in relation to the scandal.

The European Union’s executive arm on Saturday urged member states to cooperate with it in speeding up changes to vehicle emissions tests, issuing the call after German automaker Volkswagen’s scheme to trick environmental regulators came to light earlier this month.

Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s transport minister, said VW had confirmed the affected vehicles include cars with 1.6-litre and 2-litre diesel engines in Europe. “I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation”, Winterkorn said in a farewell statement.

As per the sources, after the team had tampered with the auto for a week, the vehicle would then pass the emission test. They claim that the company’s manpower in the USA did not have any engineers who had the ability to form the mechanism that helped the company to deceive on the test.

Authorities will continue working with Volkswagen to determine which cars exactly are involved.

VW is filing a criminal complaint with German prosecutors, seeking to identify those responsible for any illegal actions in connection with the scandal.

The UK Government has also begun its own investigation into the use of rigged data, which could see all diesel cars in Britain re-tested.

Müller will be tasked with restoring the company’s battered reputation after an emissions test cheating scandal broke last week.

Cars equipped with the device would run up to 40 times more emissions when on the road, the EPA said. It did not say what the cause for the alleged problem was.

They also expect it to announce a full investigation of the scandal, with German newspaper Handelsblatt saying it planned to hire United States law firm Jones Day to lead a no holds barred inquiry, and to give the outlines of a new management structure likely to be less centralised, but with a clearer system of checks.