Volkswagen AG is considering whether to pay out a record 3.3 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) dividend as planned, or use at least part of it to shore up its finances for what is shaping up to be the biggest economic crisis since World War II.

A court in the United Kingdom ruled that Volkswagen AG used a so-called defeat device to help its diesel vehicles beat emissions tests, a decision that allows 91,000 customers to proceed with a class action against the carmaker.

Volkswagen AG will halt production at its plants in Europe, deepening the economic pain the rapidly spreading coronavirus is inflicting on the struggling car industry.

Volkswagen AG’s sprawling operations in Europe are starting to feel the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as the German carmaker joined peers such as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in winding down output at some of its factories.

Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess told top managers that the world’s largest automaker needs to undergo a “radical overhaul” in the face of industry change or risk being pushed aside.

Days before production starts on Volkswagen AG’s cornerstone electric vehicle, the German manufacturer is stepping up a campaign to more than double its market value and gain investor recognition for the industry’s most ambitious technology push.

CANBERRA, Australia — Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to 127 million Australian dollars ($87 million) to settle an Australian class action stemming from the 2015 diesel emissions scandal, the German automaker and a lawyer said Sept. 16.

Volkswagen AG will dive into the increasingly crowded car-sharing market with its WeShare offering, which will seek to distinguish itself from rivals with an electric-only fleet.

Volkswagen AG is nearing a deal to cooperate with Ford Motor Co. on electric-car technology and self-driving vehicles, according to CEO Herbert Diess.

Volkswagen AG set plans to list its heavy-truck division Traton SE in Frankfurt, Germany, and Stockholm, moving forward with one of the year’s largest European public offerings despite a wobbly stock market and a swirling trade war between China and the United States.