The US Government is suing Volkswagen for cheating vehicle emissions tests.

The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit over allegations the car manufacturer violated environmental laws using a software to cheat emissions tests.

The complaint on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was filed yesterday in a federal court in Detroit.

In September last year, Volkswagen admitted to using a defeat device on 11 million cars worldwide.

The lawsuit stated the German firm installed the software on nearly 600,000 cars in the US.

According to the document, Volkswagen could pay a fine up to $32,500 (£21,775) or $37,500 (£25,125) per vehicle depending on the time of the violation.

John C. Cruden, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said: “Car manufacturers that fail to properly certify their cars and that defeat emission control systems breach the public trust, endanger public health and disadvantage competitors. The United States will pursue all appropriate remedies against Volkswagen to redress the violations of our nation’s clean air laws alleged in the complaint.”

The car manufacturer hasn’t announced any plans to fix the cars sold in the US but revealed to fix those in Europe.

In the UK around 1.2 million cars said to be affected.