The German government asked carmakers for information on Monday to ascertain whether they were involved in falfsifying car emissions data, as Volkswagen has admitted to doing in the United States. 

"We expect from manufacturers reliable information so that the Federal Motor Transport Authority or KBA can investigate whether similar manipulation has taken place in Germany or in Europe," a spokesman for the environment ministry, Andreas Kuebler, told a regular government news briefing. A transport ministry spokesman said it was not yet known whether a similar scam had been carried out in Europe.