Volkswsagen saw its first-quarter profit plunge by almost a fifth as the embattled German carmaker battles with the fallout from the emission scandal that has impacted around 11 million cars worldwide.

The group said on Tuesday (31 May) that its pre-tax profit for the first three months of the year plunged 19.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2015 to £2.4bn ($3.5bn, €3.15bn), while revenue fell 3.4% year-on-year to £37.8bn.

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The company added the number of vehicles it delivered to customers rose 0.8% year-on-year to 2.5 million. That came despite a drastic slump in sales in Russia and Brazil, where sales tumbled 35% and 17% respectively, while deliveries of passenger cars to the UK fell 1.5% to 144,000.

However, despite the disappointing figures, group's chief executive, Matthias Muller, said the carmaker had achieved what he described as "respectable results" in a very challenging environment.

"We once again managed to limit the economic effects of the diesel issue and achieve respectable results under difficult conditions," he said.

Earlier this month, the car manufacturer, indicated it was yet to quantify the whole cost of the emissions scandal after the publication of the results of an investigation it commissioned from a US law firm was postponed.

The German car giant, which has set aside £12.7bn to cover the costs related to the emissions-manipulation scandal, warned sales revenue for the current financial year is forecast to be 5% lower than in 2015.