Volkswagen (blinow61/Bigstock.com)

UK Volkswagen owners affected by the diesel-rigging scandal will not receive any compensation from the German car giant.

That's despite the fact that those affected in the US will be offered a compensation package worth $1,000: $500 in cash (£330) and $500 in credit vouchers.

VW explained its positon by saying that different market conditions prevailed in the US; diesel cars were sold in the USA primarily on their 'clean diesel' image.

However, the refusal to offer UK and European VW diesel owners compensation has dismayed many.

VW has set aside £4.8bn to cover recall costs, but none of this will be used to fund compensation packages.

In a statement on Radio 4's You & Yours, Volkswagen said that while it would put right any cars affected, it was "not planning any further financial payouts".

The chair of the UK's Transport Select Committee, Louise Ellman, also appeared on You & Yours. She responded to VW's statement by saying: "I think that VW are compounding their misdemeanours. I think they think they can get away with it, but that simply will not happen."

Of the 11 million cars affected by the VW recall, 8.5 million are in Europe.

By contrast, 482,000 diesel cars in the US are thought to be affected by the recall.

Many VW owners in the UK claim that their vehicles have suffered considerable depreciation since the scandal broke in September.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found 'defeat devices' in VW diesel engines which effectively cheated NOx emissions tests. In reality the engines outputted up to 40 times more NOx particles than US standards required.