BERLIN (AP) – Volkswagen AG said Tuesday that some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with software at the center of a U.S. emissions scandal, and that it is setting aside around 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion) to cover the fallout.
In the wake of the company’s statement, the share price of the world’s top-selling carmaker took another battering. In midday trading in Frankfurt, VW’s share price was down another 18.8 percent at 108.45 euros and near a four-year low. The fall comes on top of Monday’s hefty 17 percent decline.
The trigger to the company’s market woes was last Friday’s revelation from the U.S.’s Environmental Protection Agency that VW rigged nearly half a million cars to defeat U.S. smog tests.
The company then admitted that it intentionally installed software programmed to switch engines to a cleaner mode during official emissions testing. The software then switches off again, enabling cars to drive more powerfully on the road while emitting as much as 40 times the legal pollution limit.
In its statement Tuesday, Volkswagen gave more details, admitting that “discrepancies” related to vehicles with Type EA 189 engines and involved some 11 million vehicles worldwide.