Audi Issues Stop-Sale on Diesel Vehicles

The carmaker said late Tuesday it had also found "unexplained inconsistencies" in emissions from a few of its vehicles of carbon dioxide, a gas that scientists say contributes to global warming.

The scandal was revealed in September by USA regulators who said the software detected when vehicles were undergoing emissions tests and changed the way they operated.

Additionally, The Wall Street Journal reported that German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said today that VW told German authorities that about 98,000 of the affected cars are gasoline-powered.

In the United Kingdom, the firm is preparing to recall and fix 508,000 Volkswagen cars, 390,000 Audis, 132,000 Skodas, 80,000 VW commercial vehicles and 77,000 Seats, with the process expected to begin in the year.

Until now, the emissions-cheating scandal had centred on so-called defeat devices, sophisticated software fitted into diesel engines to skew the results of tests for nitrogen oxide emissions.

Volkswagen says it came across problems with carbon dioxide levels while investigating diesel emissions.

On the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, shares in VW were down 5.6% in early trading.

The 2013-2016 Volkswagen Touareg also contains the 3.0-liter diesel engine.

When the scandal broke several weeks ago, Volkswagen said it would be recalling about 11 million vehicles worldwide.

The commission has enforcement powers to ensure that manufacturers respect their obligations in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, including the possibility of imposing fines.

Volkswagen AG is voluntarily stopping the sale of a few new and used Volkswagen brand and Audi diesels in North America as it works to resolve new allegations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The original investigation centered on "defeat devices" that altered the emissions of noxious nitrogen oxide (NOx) in diesel engines.

But Moody's said that Volkswagen's business and financial strength give it room to shore up its cash flow for unplanned costs, and so justify the medium investment grade credit rating of A2.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement Porsche denied any knowledge of the software being installed in its cars, but Tuesday evening the company announced that it would halt Cayenne sales in the USA during the investigation.