Nissan fired Ghosn as chairman on Nov 26, a week after he was arrested by Japanese prosecutors, accused of conspiring to understate his compensation by about half of the 10 billion yen ($88 million) awarded over five years from 2010.

Following revelations that carmakers installed illicit defeat devices to understate NOx emissions from diesel exhaust systems, a landmark ruling by the German Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has enabled German cities to unilaterally ban polluting vehicles from their streets to ensure compliance with European Union clean air regulations.

The 55-year-old and another unnamed senior manager at the Volkswagen subsidiary are suspected of committing offenses of criminal fraud and "indirect false certification" in the marketing of diesel vehicles which were fitted with defeat devices to understate their actual Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions.

The Audi CEO and another unnamed senior manager at the company are both suspected of committing fraud and "indirect false certification" in the European marketing of diesel vehicles, which were fitted with illicit defeat devices to understate their actual Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions.

The function served to understate the levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions produced by the affected vehicles of the latest 1.6-liter "Euro6" diesel motor type.