Germany says has ordered VW to recall cars at start of 2016

German automotive watchdog KBA will force Volkswagen to recall 2.4 million vehicles in the country after Europe’s biggest carmaker admitted to cheating on emissionstests for diesel vehicles.

Volkswagen already faced an ongoing criminal investigation and billions in fines for violating the Clean Air Act for its earlier emissions cheat, as well as a raft of state investigations and class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of customers. Apart from the company’s VW brand, Audi, SEAT and Skoda cars can also be checked.

Volkswagen said the fix will be free for customers who can enter their car’s serial number through Volkswagen’s website to determine if the vehicle has the so-called defeat device.

USA officials say Volkswagen AG programmed diesel engines on 482,000 cars to disable emission controls when the vehicles were not being tested.

The Federal Motor Transport Authority has rejected a Volkswagen proposal for a voluntary recall, according to the dpa news agency.

Dobrindt refrained from publicly criticizing Volkswagen, saying cooperation with the German automaker was “extraordinarily good”.

If it is determined the new issue is a second defeat device, that would call into question recent assertions by top VW executives that responsibility for the cheating scheme lay with a handful of rogue software developers who wrote the original code installed with the company’s diesel engines starting with the 2009 model year.

Volkswagen has said that a few managers had been suspended, but said the report Wednesday of up to 30 “lacks any basis”.

Mr Willis said he did not think more revelations would emerge over devices fitted to an estimated 11 million diesel vehicles – including 1.2 million in Britain. Dobrindt said only 2.4 million Volkswagen diesel cars with the software are still registered in Germany.

Mueller, the CEO, said in his letter Thursday that a “concerted and reliable approach” by all European Union members would be in the best interest of customers.

The new software was first revealed to Environmental Protection Agency and California regulators on September 29, prompting the company last week to withdraw applications for approval to sell the 2016 cars in the U.S.

German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said on Thursday the government should think about ending tax breaks for diesel cars and promoting electric ones, though she later said higher taxes for diesel vehicles were not on the agenda.

Meanwhile, Italian authorities have searched the headquarters of Volkswagen Italia as part of a local investigation into the emissions testing scandal.