FTC sues Volkswagen over diesel car advertisements

US consumer protection agency the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a four-count legal complaint against carmaker Volkswagen (VW).

The FTC claims the German firm falsely advertised that hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles were environmentally friendly, when this was not the case.

In court filings, the FTC says US customers suffered "billions of dollars in injury" as a result.

VW has admitted using hidden software to bypass pollution-limit test levels.

Around 11 million vehicles globally have been fitted with the so called "defeat devices"

A VW spokesman said the firm had received the FTC complaint and "continues to co-operate" with all regulators.

In January, the Justice Department sued VW for up to $46bn (£32bn) for violating environmental laws.

Meanwhile, the troubled carmaker faces more than 500 civil law suits relating to emission levels, as well as suits from some US states.

A federal court judge has given the firm a 21 April deadline to come up with a plan to fix 600,000 cars that emit illegal levels of pollution.