"The commitment to the FIA world rally championship is coming to an end after four historically successful years, in which Volkswagen won WRC titles in the driver, co-driver and manufacturer rankings in a row with the Polo R," the company said in a statement.

VW's withdrawal at the end of this year comes after the German auto giants, reeling from the Dieselgate scandal, announced last week that Audi was pulling out of Le Mans and the endurance world championship to concentrate on Formula E.