Munich prosecutors arrested an Audi employee this week on suspicion of fraud and false advertising in connection with the diesel emissions scandal.
A Reuters report noted this was the first arrest in Germany related to Volkswagen's diesel scandal.
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The Audi worker was arrested at the request of Munich prosecutors following their own searches and not at the request of United States authorities, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors office told Reuters.
The arrested employee appeared in court on Tuesday and is now in custody, the spokeswoman added.
Asked by Reuters if the suspect was a current or former Audi employee, the spokeswoman declined to comment.
She did say no members of the Audi management board were being personally investigated.
Audi declined to comment to Reuters.
The news agency also noted the US Justice Department said it had charged former Audi manager Giovanni Pamio with directing employees at the company to design software to cheat US emissions tests in thousands of Audi diesel cars.
