Volkswagen has admitted using the same fake emissions test in Europe as it used to falsify results in the US, the German transport minister announced on Thursday.
Volkswagen is the second massive German multinational to fall into the US federal government’s sights, after Siemens.
Minister Alexander Dobrindt said it was not known how many of the 11 million vehicles affected were in Europe. He also said other manufacturers’ vehicles would be checked.
The scandal began unfolding on Friday when the German car giant said it had used software in the US to provide false emission test results.
Dobrindt said he had been told vehicles with 1.6 and 2.0 liter diesel engines are “affected by the manipulations that are being talked about”.
The company’s Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Audi A3 models in the US from 2009 to 2015, and the Passat from 2014-15, were fitted with the devices which produced doctored results. However, diesel cars are far more popular in Europe than in the US.
Dobrindt also said random tests would be conducted on cars made by manufacturers other than VW: “It is clear that the Federal Office for Motor Traffic will not exclusively concentrate on the VW models in question but that it will also carry out random tests on vehicles made by other carmakers.”
BMW has moved to shore up its reputation after German motoring magazine Auto Bild claimed emissions from one of its cars were 11 times the EU limit, writes Alan Tovey.

The auto-maker strenuously denied earlier on Thursday that it rigged emissions tests.
Now BMW has pointed out that instead of being criticised in the report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) – which also blew the whistle on VW’s violations in the US – it was actually praised.
“The ICCT tested 14 BMWs in the US, and they all passed,” a BMW spokesman said.
The ICCT said the BMW X5 – a larger version of the X3 model – adhered to the standards required, unlike the VW Jetta and Passat, which it also monitored at the same time.
The ICCT found that the BMW X5 “was generally at or below the standard, and only exceeded it during rural uphill operating conditions”.
“The BMW vehicle’s performance on the in-use tests shows that the technology needed to meet the US motor vehicle air pollution emission standards for diesels is available,” was the verdict of Francisco Posada, who led the ICCT research project.
The BMW spokesman said: “We can reassure people we do not manipulate our cars’ performance”, adding that the company “did not recognise” the test results on its X3 SUV reported by Auto Bild.
The report by Auto Bild sent BMW shares tumbling earlier today. They are now down around 6.3pc.
Meanwhile, India is the latest country to investigate whether VW’s rigged emissions software was applied to cars sold there.
Bloomberg reports the state-run Automotive Research Association of India will look into whether the company used the same software in local emission tests as it did in the US.
Volkswagen in India said it couldn’t comment on the probe because it is now under way.