Volkswagen has been uncooperative with US states probing its emissions-cheating technology, citing German privacy law in refusing to share documents, two prosecutors said Friday.

The German auto giant has fallen far short of its public pledges of cooperation, said sharply worded statements from the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut, who are leading a VW probe by more than 40 US states in parallel with an ongoing US federal investigation.

"Volkswagen's cooperation with the states' investigation has been spotty -- and frankly, more of the kind one expects from a company in denial than one seeking to leave behind a culture of admitted deception," said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

"It has been slow to produce documents from its US files, it has sought to delay responses until it completes its 'independent investigation' several months from now, and it has failed to pursue every avenue to overcome the obstacles it says that German privacy law presents to turning over emails from its executives' files in Germany. Our patience with Volkswagen is wearing thin."

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, one of six state officials leading the probe, said the states will "seek to use any means available to us" to hold Volkswagen accountable.

"I find it frustrating that, despite public statements professing cooperation and an expressed desire to resolve the various investigations that it faces following its calculated deception, Volkswagen is, in fact, resisting cooperation by citing German law," Jepsen said.

The statements come on the heels of a lawsuit filed Monday by the US Department of Justice that seeks more than $20 billion in damages and said its probe was "impeded and obstructed by material omissions and misleading information provided by VW."

Volkswagen has repeatedly apologized for the scandal in which it admitted installing emissions-cheating technology on more than 11 million diesel engines worldwide, in vehicles of the model years 2009 through 2015.

In response to a request for comment Friday, a Volkswagen spokesman said the company has been responsive to US officials.

"We cooperate closely with the US investigation authorities," he said. "We cannot comment on a pending investigation."

Scandal-hit VW posts first full-year sales drop since 2002
Berlin (AFP) Jan 8, 2016 - Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen Friday posted its first drop in sales in over a decade, as it struggled to recover from a massive pollution cheating scandal.

Sales of vehicles bearing the Volkswagen badge fell 5 percent to 5.82 million, the company said, marking the first such decline in 11 years.

Overall VW group sales, which also include brands like Audi, Porsche and Skoda, reached 9.93 million, 2 percent less than a year ago and the first fall since 2002.

"Almost 10 million vehicles sold -- that's an excellent result given a difficult situation in certain regions and for diesel in the last quarter," said chief executive Matthias Mueller.

He acknowledged that challenges await in 2016, and said the company needed to be "more efficient for a successful future."

Volkswagen sank into its biggest crisis over its stunning revelations in September that it had fitted 11 million of its vehicles with devices designed to cheat pollution tests.

Earlier this week, the US government said it was sueing VW for $20 billion (18 billion euros) in civil penalties.

Mueller is travelling to the United States where he will attend a media reception in Detroit on Sunday.

He has vowed to press on with the company's diesel marketing offensive in the US despite the government lawsuit.

On Friday, VW shares closed 0.09 percent higher at 115.10 euros, defying an overall weak market, with the DAX closing 1.31 percent down.