The fix affects vehicles of the most recent Golf 8 series that were made until July 2020, a spokesman said. He added the recall was not mandatory but was a "voluntary service measure".

Volkswagen had to postpone the launch of the Golf 8 due to software problems last year.

Its shares were down 1.6% at 1012 GMT, making it the biggest percentage loser in Germany's blue-chip index DAX.

(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; writing by Thomas Seythal; Editing by Madeline Chambers)