The revelation last September from US environmental authorities that the company had been cheating on emissions test rocked one of the most venerable brand names in the auto industry and cost it its chief executive as well as a host of goodwill.
It's also raised questions over the practices of others.
Today, German government officials said five German brands, including Volkswagen, would conduct a voluntary recall over emissions issues, a day after Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler said it was conducting an internal investigation into its emissions certifications at the request of US authorities.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, Volkswagen would offer to buy back almost 500,000 cars sold in the US equipped with software that disabled emissions controls when the car was not being tested. Some 11 million cars worldwide are affected.
The company had delayed its earnings announcement until it could get a better estimate of the costs involved. Now that it has revealed the cost of the scandal, Volkswagen said Friday that it is to post a massive net loss of 5.5 billion euros for last year.