Volkswagen's CEO says he's "endlessly sorry" for the company's diesel emissions scandal and is pledging a fast and thorough investigation.

Martin Winterkorn said in a video message: "We are asking, I am asking for your trust on our way forward. We will clear this up."

The crisis enveloping the world's top-selling car maker escalated earlier as the company issued a profit warning following a stunning admission that some 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide were fitted with software at the centre of a US emissions scandal.

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