FILE PHOTO: Volkswagen's logos are pictured at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show in Tokyo, Japan October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE has re-registered in Germany six company jets that were previously registered in the Cayman Islands, a company spokesman said on Sunday, confirming an article in Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The spokesman said the move was sparked by new EU regulations stipulating that aircraft must be governed by the authority of the territory where the planes are stationed.

Volkswagen had previously denied that the planes were registered in the Cayman Islands for tax-avoidance reasons, saying it was simply a matter of less bureaucracy.

Europe’s biggest carmaker used to have an Airbus A319 for executives’ use but sold it in the wake of the 2015 dieselgate crisis - which has cost it around $30 billion so far - as a signal of cutting back on an ostentatious corporate lifestyle.

Volkswagen now has a total of nine company jets, seven of which were registered in the Cayman Islands. The seventh of those is due to be sold, the spokesman said.