Switzerland bans VW car sales over emissions

Switzerland has banned the sale of Volkswagen cars caught up in the emissions scandal.

The government’s ruling affects diesel models containing “defeat devices” – software which is able to change the engine’s performance and run cleaner during official testing.

As well as VW models which fall under the “euro 5” emissions category, other brands in the company’s group, such as Seat and Skoda, are affected.

However, the ban has been restricted to vehicles which are yet to be sold or registered, meaning Swiss motorists who currently own an affected car will not need to take action.

New VW cars which boast “euro 6” engines are also immune from the ban, as they contain an updated emissions system.

On Friday, Matthias Mueller was named as the new boss of Volkswagen – moving from his former role as the chief executive of Porsche.

After replacing Martin Winterkorn, who resigned this week after it was revealed VW had fitted 11 million cars and vans with defeat devices, Mr Mueller vowed to win back the trust of customers – and make Volkswagen “an even stronger company”.

The 62-year-old, who has worked across the VW group for four decades, has conceded the company faces “unprecedented challenges” in overcoming the controversy.

Few new details have been offered by the manufacturer on the fallout from the scandal – but a number of employees have been put on leave until crucial details are cleared up.

Germany’s transport minister has announced that VW has manipulated test results for about 2.8 million cars there – pointing to cheating on a bigger scale than initially thought.

The UK Government has also begun its own investigation into the use of rigged data, which could see all diesel cars in Britain re-tested.

In the next day or two, details of the cars fitted with defeat devices will be released – and drivers of diesel VWs, Audis, Skodas and Seats will learn if their models could be recalled.

And in the US, the Justice Department said it is taking the allegations against the company “very seriously” and announced an investigation.

The scandal, the biggest to hit VW, has shocked Germany.

Acting chairman Berthold Huber used strong language as he issued an apology to customers, authorities and investors.

“I want to be very clear, the manipulation of tests for diesel engines is a moral and political disaster,” he said.

Mr Winterkorn, who had been CEO since 2007, said he took responsibility for the “irregularities”, but insisted he had personally done nothing wrong. Sky News