Germany's highest civil court has ruled that Volkswagen must pay compensation to a motorist who had bought one of its diesel minivans fitted with emissions-cheating software.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

The ruling sets a benchmark for about 60,000 other cases in Germany.

The plaintiff, Herbert Gilbert, will be partially reimbursed for his vehicle, with depreciation taken into account

VW said it would now offer affected motorists a one-off payment. The amount will depend on individual cases.

The company has already settled a separate €830m (£743m) class action suit involving 235,000 German car owners.

VW said in a statement on Monday: "For the majority of the 60,000 pending cases, this ruling provides clarity as to how the Federal Court of Justice assesses essential questions in German diesel proceedings.

"Volkswagen is now seeking to bring these proceedings to a prompt conclusion in agreement with the plaintiffs. We will therefore approach the plaintiffs with the adequate settlement proposals."