Volkswagen recalls 100,000 Australian cars affected by emissions scandal

Troubled car manufacturer Volkswagen has announced a recall of almost 100,000 Australian vehicles fitted with the emissions cheating software that has plagued the car giant globally for the past three weeks.

The Australian arm of the auto giant increased the number of cars affected in the voluntary recall on Friday, confirming the existence of "defeat devices" in the engines of 77,149 Volkswagens sold between 2008 and 2015, and in 14,028 Audi cars in the country.

Though no timetable for the voluntary recall was given, the announcement follows the German head office's plan to rectify 11 million vehicles world-wide starting in January.

Volkswagen's Australian branch had previously been criticized for keeping the local market in the dark since the auto giant confessed to the emissions scam three weeks ago, referring all queries to their global office.

Australian regulators have warned that the company faces millions of dollars in possible fines for breaking mandatory safety standards and misleading customers while local law firm Maurice Blackburn is considering a class action lawsuit to compensate customers for lost re-sale prices.

Volkswagen suspended local sales of affected vehicles fitted with 1.6 or 2.0-liter EA189 diesel engines after talks with Australia's government over how it would deal with the problem last week. Endi