The Braunschweig public prosecutor accused the car giant of selling or placing on a global market a total of 10.7 million diesel-fuelled vehicles with illegal emission defeat devices between mid-2007 and 2015.
"Following thorough examination, Volkswagen AG accepted the fine and it will not lodge an appeal against it. Volkswagen AG, by doing so, admits its responsibility for the diesel crisis and considers this as a further major step towards the latter being overcome," the group said in a statement.
The scandal erupted in Germany in 2015 when Volkswagen was found to have used special software in its cars that helped them pass exhaust emissions tests. The company admitted that 11 million diesel cars worldwide had been fitted with the software and agreed to pay $15 billion in a settlement.