The Volkswagen group is accused of having developed a software, which has been mounted (from 2009 to 2015) on the control box of 4-cylinder diesel engines of Volkswagen and Audi models, aimed at cheating gas emission controls. Volkswagen shares plummeted 18 percent in Frankfurt after dipping 22.2 percent to 126.35 euros per share. VW Group's CEO announced the company has ordered an external inquiry and said he was "deeply sorry" for having violated the United States' rules. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked to recall half a million cars and a spokesperson of the VW group informed that the car maker has suspended the sale in the United States of the models concerned, which represent 23 percent of all Volkswagen cars sold in the U.S. in the month of August. "I can confirm that sales have been halted," said a company spokesperson. The German car maker sold almost 240,000 cars in the U.S. between January and August of this year. The German government asked car manufacturers to provide information on the possibility that the anti-pollution data could also have been tampered with at home and not only in the United States. "We expect reliable information from the car manufacturers so that (German authorities) can check whether comparable manipulation has happened in Germany or Europe," said Andreas Kubler, the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment. Sigmar Gabriel, the German Economy Minister, defined it "an ugly incident" that is causing concern for the reputation of German automakers. "That this is a bad case, I think is clear," Gabriel told journalists after a German environment official described the case as "blatant consumer deception". "You will understand that we are worried that the justifiably excellent reputation of the German car industry and in particular that of Volkswagen suffers," Gabriel added. (AGI)