Former Volkswagen engineer pleads guilty in "Dieselgate" case

An engineer involved in Volkswagen's emissions scandal, which was revealed in 2015, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and will cooperate with the criminal investigation into the incident.

The German automaker admitted to the installation and management of software, which allowed 500,000 of its cars to activate pollution controls during tests, and deactivate them when on the road.

James Liang from California made the plea in the US District Court in Detroit on Friday.

Liang allegedly was one of various conspirators that used the software in order to meet emission standards and customer expectations.

The company have been in discussions in order to settle the allegations, having already agreed payment in excess of $15bn to settle claims from disgruntled customers.

The scandal blew up in autumn last year when the Environmental Protection Agency found the suspect cars to be 40 times over the legal limit for nitrogen oxide emissions.