Volkswagen emissions scandal

Volkswagen used devices to cheat air pollution tests in diesel luxury vehicles, U.S. environmental regulators said on Nov 2, in a new blow to the automaker already reeling from similar allegations regarding millions of smaller diesel engines. 

Volkswagen posted its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years on Oct. 28 and said the 6.7 billion euros ($7.4 billion) set aside to cover the costs of its rigging of diesel emissions tests was likely just a start.

Volkswagen's Turkey distributor Do?u? Otomotiv said on Oct. 20 that it was temporarily halting the sale of two diesel models after the German car maker admitted to regulators that its diesel cars were rigged to cheat emissions tests.

The German authorities tightened the screws on Volkswagen on Oct. 15, saying they would order it to recall 2.4 million vehicles across the country that are fitted with pollution-cheating software.

As the embattled auto giant continues to struggle to resolve its deepest-ever crisis, the authorities appear to be losing patience.

Volkswagen will cut investment at its biggest division by 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) a year and speed up cost cutting, the carmaker said on Oct. 13, as it strives to cope with fallout from its cheating of diesel emissions tests.

German police swooped on Volkswagen's headquarters on Oct. 8, carrying away files and hard disks as the investigation into a massive pollution cheating scandal expanded on both sides of the Atlantic.

The head of Volkswagen's US division apologized to Congress and said the company takes "full responsibility" for an emissions cheating scandal, according to testimony released Oct. 7.

Volkswagen Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said in an interview with a German newspaper that the company would launch a recall for cars affected by its diesel emissions crisis in January and complete the fix by the end of next year.

The Romanian authorities are waiting until October 7 to receive more data from the German Volkwagen group about its emissions problems before deciding how much more environmental tax the company should pay.

Romania says that Volkswagen or its legal representatives in Romania must pay more environmental tax than it has done.

The International Energy Agency's (IEA) new chief has said the scandal that hit German car manufacturer Volkswagen could lead to a change in car technology across the globe.