MOTORISTS in Scotland may be able to pursue compensation against German car giant Volkswagen if it emerges they purchased vehicles affected by the emissions test-rigging scandal.

David McKie, a litigation lawyer with Levy and McRae, who has handled many consumer and product liability cases, said there were potential parallels with mis-sold PPI.

Mr McKie said: “I anticipate that this scandal will lead to many cases being pursued or at least investigated in Scotland.

"It is not yet clear whether Volkswagen manufactured vehicles which were sold in Scotland will be affected. Much depends on the emissions testing in Europe as opposed to the US, where the problem has emerged.

"If there are claims, I don’t believe that they will stretch to vehicle replacements or refunds but there could be claims for a premium paid for a ‘greener’ car, inconvenience costs for recalls and possible additional fuel costs moving forward.”

It comes amid claims in German media that Volkswagen was warned years ago about the use of illegal tricks to defeat emissions tests.

According to German weekly Bild am Sonntag, VW's own internal investigation has uncovered a 2007 letter from parts supplier, Bosch, warning Volkswagen not to use the software during regular operation.

Separately, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung has reported that a Volkswagen technician raised concerns about illegal practices in connection with emissions levels as far back as 2011.

The German car maker admitted last week that it used special software to fool US emissions tests for its diesel vehicles. Some 11 million VW diesel cars built since 2008 are affected by the scandal.

A spokesman for Volkswagen declined to comment on the latest reports, saying that the company would not respond to "rumours and speculation".

Meanwhile, a Spanish government minister said that Volkswagen subsidiary, Seat, will be required to return subsidies it received from the Spanish government to produce "efficient vehicles".

Jose Manuel Soria, Spain's minister of industry, energy and tourism, said he expects Seat to reveal how many vehicles it had produced and sold both inside and outside Spain using software which cheats diesel engine emissions tests.

Mr Soria said the Volkswagen Group has given assurances that it will maintain its investments in Spain and that the emissions scandal will "not affect the activity or employment" in Spain.

In a statement on Saturday, Seat said that it was appointing Luca de Meo as its new chief executive and that Volkswagen Group's recent investment of €3.3 billion euros (£2.4bn) for research and development facilities in Spain showed its confidence.

It came as Switzerland announced at the weekend that it was banning sales of all Volkswagen Group cars in the Euro 5 emissions category in the wake of the test-rigging scandal.