The scandal with Volkswagen can cost 40 billion euros

If a major financial services company's estimate is accurate, Volkswagen's TDI diesel emissions scandal could cost the automaker up to $86 billion.

Credit Suisse has advised investors that other estimates aren't adequately taking into consideration secondary costs and cascading fallout from the scandal, according to CNNMoney. "The market does not appear to be discounting negative knock-on effects," wrote Credit Suisse analysts in a report sent to clients, according to CNNMoney.

Credit Suisse confirmed the numbers in CNNMoney's report but declined to furnish the investor note to CNET. "We are restricting this to clients for now," said spokesperson Sofia Rehman.

That $86 billion figure is exponentially more than previous cost estimates. If Credit Suisse is right, the $7.3 billion in funds VW set aside to cover costs relating to the crisis will be woefully inadequate.

Volkswagen, the world's largest automaker by volume, has been in a tailspin since the US Environmental Protection Agency last month accused it of deliberately programming nearly 500,000 diesel cars to circumvent emissions standards. A so-called "defeat device" allows vehicles to pass the EPA's test cycle procedures but spew up to 40 times the emissions in real-world use. Subsequently, it was revealed that the cheater software is installed in 11 million cars globally.

Volkswagen will reportedly refit up to 11 million diesel vehicles affected by its emissions-cheating scandal with new software.