German authorities: Many VWs need more than software changes

Germany's Transport Ministry says automaker Volkswagen will likely need to make more than just software changes to nearly a quarter of its 2.4 million diesel cars being recalled in the country.
The ministry told The Associated Press in an email today that of the vehicles being recalled for fixes in Germany, the Federal Motor Transport Authority "currently expects that approximately 540,000 will also need hardware changes." It says Volkswagen will inform owners of the details.
U.S. Officials say Volkswagen programmed diesel engines on 482,000 cars to disable emission controls when the vehicles were not being tested. Some 11 million vehicles are fitted with the software worldwide.

The company is recalling 8.5 million 2009-2015 model year cars with the software across Europe, starting next year, including the 2.4 million in Germany.