Volkswagen Admits 11 Million Cars Have Illegal Software

Volkswagen has come forward and announced that as many as 11 million vehicles have been fitted with software allowing the cars to cheat on emissions tests.

The news comes following a shocking revelation by the U.S. EPA that almost 500,000 units sold in the U.S. between 2009 and 2015 were equipped with special software that could detect when an emission test was being performed and, as a result, would lower the car’s emissions.

Shares in Volkswagen continued to fall off a cliff in the second day of trading since Volkswagen admitted to installing a cheat program in order to pass emissions tests.

SEE ALSO: How VW Tricked the EPA’s Emissions Tests

By mid-day in Europe, Volkswagen AG’s stock value had slumped by as much as 23 percent, rebounding slightly to around 19 percent down.

When combined with yesterday’s losses, Volkswagen shares are down over 40%.

Volkswagen has said it will set aside 6.5 billion Euros to deal with the issue, though it has also admitted in a statement that this may already be insufficient. “Due to the ongoing investigations the amounts estimated may be subject to revaluation,” reads a statement released today by the company.

VW reiterated its commitment to fixing the DieselGate disaster, stating that, “Volkswagen does not tolerate any kind of violation of laws whatsoever. It is and remains the top priority of the Board of Management to win back lost trust and to avert damage to our customers. The Group will inform the public on the further progress of the investigations constantly and transparently.”