Volkswagen emission scandal: Carmaker to recall 2.5m vehicles in Germany

Volkswagen will recall and re-equip more than 2.46 million vehicles in Germany due to rigged emission software. The car maker has set out a plan to deal with the millions of VW, Skoda, Seat and Audi cars affected.

The information about the plan, part of a European operation which will result in 8.5 million cars being recalled, was leaked to German national Die Welt.

Although the broadsheet did not name its sources, it told readers some 1.54m Volkswagen cars were affected in Germany as well as 531,813 Audi vehicles. From VW's Czech brand Skoda, 286,970 had the software installed, while 104,197 Seat cars will be recalled.

Transport minister Alexander Dobrindt told Die Welt that the investigations launched by German authorities have led to a proposed solution for the 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 litre engines.

"The VW group must resolve the damage quickly. It cannot be that customers will be hit by the disadvantages," he said. "Weeks ago, we arranged a recall regarding all diesel vehicles, which will kick off in January 2016. We are dealing with the VW affair much more [in Germany] than, for example, in the United States."

Just days after the VW scandal was uncovered by the Environmental Protection Agency in the US, Germany announced it was launching its own investigation into the fraudulent emission software. The car manufacturer has worked together with the government to resolve the issues.

The report follows news that Volkswagen executives knew that certain cars understated emissions. German tabloid Bild am Sonntag claimed, without naming its sources, that top-level managers were aware of the fraud at least a year ago.

Volkswagen has claimed that it was unaware of the scandal before its discovery in September 2015. The manufacturer, one of the biggest companies in Germany, has set aside billions on its balance sheet to deal with the crisis.