German public prosecutors reportedly have launched an investigation into suspected tax evasion in connection with the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

Citing a joint report by daily paper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR, Reuters said the investigation focused on five Volkswagen employees and concerned several million euros of evaded tax payments linked to rigging of CO2 emissions. The information came from a spokesman for prosecutors in Braunschweig near Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg.

CO2 emissions help determine how much tax car owners must pay every year in most countries in Europe.