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Fiat Chrysler shares have fallen sharply on the Milan stock exchange after media reports that it could face a sales ban in Germany over accusations that it cheated emissions tests.

Its shares fell as much as 5% in early trading before recovering slightly.

At the weekend, Germany's Bild newspaper said the country's regulators had found evidence of emissions-cheating software in Fiat cars.

Rival VW has already been engulfed by a similar test-cheating scandal.

According to Bild's Sunday edition, the German Federal Motor Vehicle Office (KBA) had tested a Fiat car and discovered software that shut down emissions control technology after 22 minutes - two minutes after the end of a standard test.

The newspaper said the KBA had reported its findings to the European Commission and to the Italian authorities.

Fiat Chrysler has so far made no comment on the allegations.

It has also cancelled a meeting with the German authorities which had been due to take place last week, on the grounds that responsibility for testing lay with Italy.

The German transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has criticised Fiat's "un-co-operative attitude", which he described as "totally incomprehensible".