Volkswagen has launched a website which enables owners of Volkswagen vehicles in Ireland to check if their cars are affected by the recent emissions scandal.

The vehicle manufacturer has launched www.campaigncheck.ie is intended as “the next step in providing which vehicles with an EA 189 diesel engine are affected”, according to a statement from Lars Himmler of Volkswagen group Ireland, which is posted on the site.

Owners of Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and SEAT vehicles can input their vehicle's registration number to check the site to find out if their car is affected.

“With immediate effect, all customers in Ireland of Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, SEAT and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles can check on this website for themselves whether the emissions characteristics of their vehicles need to be corrected. This website also features additional information and questions and answers concerning the topic,” the website says.

Even if a vehicle is affected it is “technically safe to drive and roadworthy before the correction has been carried out,” the site says.

The statement goes on to say the company have “repeatedly stated that it will actively inform all the customers who are concerned and this continues to apply over the coming weeks and months.”

Some 80,000 cars in Ireland are affected by the scandal, in which Volkswagen has admitted fitting its cars with devices to cheat in emissions tests. Those cars will require an adjustment of engine software.

The website comes following a report in the New York Times that claims the emissions scandal is rooted in a 2008 decision to install the cheating software after realising their new diesel engine wouldn’t meet emissions guidelines.

The global crisis has affected 11 million vehicles and is the largest crisis in the company’s history.