Germany’s transport authority will order Volkswagen to recall 2.4 million diesel vehicles that have been outfitted with software designed to cheat on emissions tests. The recalls will be mandatory.
German regulator KBA, the country’s automotive watchdog, said Thursday it would not sign off on a plan by Europe’s largest automaker to remove deceptive software from affected cars on a voluntary basis.

“We are ordering the recall,” a KBA spokesman said.

In early October, VW had submitted its suggestions for rectifying the company’s worst-ever scandal. The automaker has made a number of other strategic decisions as well, including slashing its annual investment budget by 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion).

cjc/sms (Reuters, dpa)