He is one of several engineers suspended by Volkswagen after the company admitted previous year that it had rigged emissions testing since 2009. The software detected when the cars were being tested in a lab so that they could pass emissions tests, but once the cars hit real-world conditions, the software circumvented the emissions control system to spew large amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOx) into the atmosphere.

Liang admitted that during this time, he and his co-conspirators knew that VW marketed its diesel vehicles to the US public as "clean diesel" and environmentally friendly, and promoted the increased fuel economy. While working at VW's testing facility in Oxnard, he held the title of Leader of Diesel Competence.

When he and his co-conspirators realized that they could not design a diesel engine that would meet the stricter US emissions standards, they designed and implemented software to recognize whether a vehicle was undergoing standard USA emissions testing on a dynamometer or being driven on the road under normal driving conditions (the defeat device), in order to cheat the emissions tests.

Owners will get their car's market value prior to the time the scandal was made public and will also get an extra $5,100 to $10,000, depending on the model, as compensation for their time and trouble.

". They designed and implemented software to recognize whether a vehicle was undergoing standard USA emissions testing on a dynamometer or being driven on the road under normal driving conditions (the defeat device), in order to cheat the emissions tests", court documents and the news release read.

Almost 500,000 2.0 L diesels have illegal software on them.

Lenovo's Yoga Book Kills The Keyboard
However, more devices under the Yoga Book brand will follow, and the touch input panel will also go into an upcoming Chromebook. The Yoga book is expected to ship in both Windows and Android configurations, starting at $549 (£418) and $499 respectively.

Volkswagen has already agreed to more than $16 billion in separate civil settlements to address environmental, state and owner claims in the United States, Reuters reported.

"I know VW did not disclose the defeat device to U.S. regulators in order to sell the cars in the U.S.", Liang said to the judge today.

Liang worked at Volkswagen for decades, beginning in Germany and then moving to the U.S.in 2008 - two years after the government says the conspiracy began. If he complies, no further evidence can be used against him. He will be sentenced on January 11.

Liang has submitted the first guilty plea for an individual in the Volkswagen scandal.

Liang was indicted under seal in June by a grand jury, which was unsealed in U.S. Eastern District Court Friday, morning September 9.

The drama in the Volkswagen emissions test scandal played out in a courtroom in Detroit on Friday.