VW pushed into loss by emissions scandal

Volkswagen has been pushed into loss by the mounting cost of its emissions scandal.

VW admitted installing software to cheat emissions tests in 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide in September.

The first set of accounts since then show it put aside €6.7 billion ($7.4 billion), leaving VW with a €2.52 billion pre-tax loss for the third quarter of the year.

Despite the scandal the company still expects sales to grow this year.

VW said it expected profits for the full year to be "down significantly".

VW says the legal costs of the scandal "cannot be estimated at the current time". But it added: "Considerable financial charges may be incurred as the legal risks crystallise."

In the three months to the end of September, vehicle sales fell 3.7 percent and production fell 11.6 percent compared with the same period last year. However, VW said that it was still forecasting a rise of up to 4 percent in sales revenue for the whole of the year.

Matthias Mueller, VW's chief executive and chairman of the board of Management, said: "The figures show the core strength of the Volkswagen Group on the one hand, while on the other the initial impact of the current situation is becoming clear. "We will do everything in our power to win back the trust we have lost."

Meanwhile the group has started retrenching and announced earlier this month it would reduce its research and development budget. In the last three months it has reduced R&D by more than €1 billion.