FILE PHOTO: A Volkswagen badge on a production line at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg, Germany, March 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen’s effort to get its fleet of cars certified according to the new WLTP emissions standard have cost the carmaker up to 3.6 billion euros ($4.04 billion) in 2018, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The estimate, which was first reported in Germany’s Der Spiegel, citing sources close to the works council, came to light after VW’s works council boss Bernd Osterloh demanded that the carmaker take action to hold managers to account.

“It cannot be that billions are wasted, and this has no consequences,” Osterloh told Braunschweiger Zeitung.