The Australian arm of embattled car manufacturer Volkswagen has announced a voluntary recall of all its cars effected by alleged software tampering on diesel engines.

In a statement on Friday morning, Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) pledged to give consumers “the company’s full support in this matter”.

VGA acknowledged “this has been a difficult time and apologises for any disappointment and inconvenience felt by our customers.”

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All vehicles fitted with an EA 189 diesel engine are eligible for the voluntary recall. VGA will write to all effected customers to advise them of what to do next.

The news comes after VW, on Wednesday, confirmed the cheating software was installed in cars sold in Australia.

The software reportedly was able to detect when a diesel vehicle was undergoing emissions testing, automatically switching to a more environmentally friendly mode in order to deceive testers.

When not in testing mode, VW diesel cars emit more than is legally permitted under US law.

The scandal has wiped more than a third off the car company’s share price, forced out its long-time chief executive, prompted investigations across the world and rocked both the car industry and German establishment.

VGA managing director John White assured all customers that the cars are all safe.

“I want to ensure all customers that the affected cars are technically safe and the necessary measures will be undertaken at no cost to them,” he said.

– with agencies