Germany wants to introduce emissions tests on cars

Germany wants to carry out unannounced emissions tests on all carmakers, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sunday, aiming to rein state confidence in the industry that was shattered by the Volkswagen cheating scandal.

"There will be controls on vehicles in the style of doping tests (for athletes)," Dobrindt told the newspaper Bild. "Unannounced and every year."

One way to carry out the random tests would be to select models from car rental companies, the newspaper said. Technicians who carry out the tests would be rotated to ensure transparency.

Bild said a draft proposal on the new measures would be presented to the Bundestag lower house of parliament on Thursday. It would also call on the government to present plans to encourage motorists to switch to electric cars.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, admitted in September it had cheated US emissions tests by installing software capable of deceiving regulators in up to 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide. The admission wiped billions of euros off the company's market value and forced out its long-time CEO.

The company has said only a small group of employees was responsible for cheating on US diesel emissions tests and there was no indication board members were involved in what has become the biggest business crisis in its history.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking employee warned senior Volkswagen managers in May 2014 that US regulators might examine car engine software as part of an investigation into pollution levels, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The warning came in the form of a letter, which was sent more than a year before the German carmaker's public admission that its cars had been equipped with software to manipulate emission test results, the sources said, raising questions about how much senior managers knew about the scandal.

The US Justice Department is suing the company for up to $46 billion for alleged violations of environmental law while regulators and prosecutors are looking to establish what role, if any, had been played by senior managers, including former Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn.

German newspaper Bild am Sonntag was first to report the existence of an internal letter warning senior managers about the investigation.

Citing documents from the company's own investigation of the scandal, Bild am Sonntag said an employee known internally as "Winterkorn's fireman" had notified superiors about the probe.

"It can be assumed that the authorities will investigate VW systems to establish whether Volkswagen has implemented test-recognition software," the newspaper said, citing the letter uncovered as part of an investigation by Jones Day, a law firm conducting the company's internal investigation.

Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday that they had knowledge of the Volkswagen letter but that it is not certain that Winterkorn, who resigned shortly after the scandal surfaced, had seen the letter.

The letter was sent from the carmaker's product quality and safety department, one of the sources said.