VW faces 1400 compo claims worth $12.1b

Volkswagen is facing compensation totalling 8.2 billion euros ($A12.18 billion) from about 1400 investors as a result of the emissions testing scandal, a German court says.

The compensation demands come after VW shares lost more than 40 per cent of their value over about 11 months after it admitted a year ago to installing devices that cheated emissions tests in more than 11 million diesel vehicles around the world.

The claims were lodged mainly by private investors, the district court in the northern German city of Braunschweig said.

The lawsuits also include claims from an investment company, as well as institutional investors that have been bundled together, the court said.

Those launching the legal action claim VW failed in its duty to provide information to shareholders in a timely manner after the emissions scandal broke in September last year.

VW is also facing mounting legal costs from around the world, with compensation claims from the United States and those lodged in Braunschweig alone totalling 30 billion euros.

Meanwhile, another two German states said last Friday that they planned to sue the troubled carmaker for damages as a result of losses they suffered from shares in the group.

Both Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg said they were following up the move by the southern state of Bavaria in launching legal action against VW.