EU regulators have given Volkswagen 10 days to clarify its own admission that nearly a million of the company's cars emit more CO2 pollution than originally claimed.
France wants an "operational integration" between Renault and Nissan, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said, but reaffirmed that a merger is "not on the agenda".
Fitch ratings agency on Monday cut Volkswagen's credit rating by two notches, saying that a widening pollution cheating scandal has exposed weak corporate governance at the German auto giant.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he was opposed to a full merger of Renault and Nissan, but wanted to "preserve the alliance", following a week of mounting tensions over the role of the state in the carmaker.
Volkswagen will negotiate a settlement with Brazilian justice officials for allegedly allowing the torture and detention of employees opposed to Brazil's former military dictatorship.
German auto giant Volkswagen said that the global pollution-cheating scam it is currently embroiled in pushed it deeply into the red in the third quarter and would hurt earnings for the whole of 2015.
German auto giant Volkswagen steered clear of a fresh blow in its emissions-rigging scandal, saying that another type of diesel engine which had raised concerns was not fitted with software designed to dupe testers.
Volkswagen said it will recall a total of 8.5 million diesel vehicles Europe-wide as police raided the carmaker's office in Italy and those of its sports car unit Lamborghini over a global pollution-cheating scandal.
Volkswagen said that more than 91,000 of its vehicles in Australia are fitted with emissions-cheating technology, more than two weeks after the global scandal broke.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the emissions scandal that has hit car giant Volkswagen was "dramatic" but would not inflict lasting damage on Germany's reputation.
German auto giant Volkswagen shifted up a gear in its plans to recall millions of cars fitted with pollution-cheating software as it boosted efforts to find the masterminds behind the scam.