--- description: Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned Wednesday amid an emissions scandal. title: Everything to Know About the Volkswagen Scandal in 1 Graphic image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Everything to Know About the Volkswagen Scandal in 1 Graphic by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/) and [Heather Jones](/author/heather-jones/) Sep 23, 2015 7:36 PM CUT by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/) and [Heather Jones](/author/heather-jones/) Sep 23, 2015 7:36 PM CUT Embattled Volkswagen AG CEO Martin Winterkorn [resigned](http://time.com/4046377/volkswagen-ceo-resigns/?xid=homepage "undefined") Wednesday, just days after the automaker admitted 11 million of its diesel cars are far less environmentally friendly than advertised. Volkswagen faces fines of up to $18 billion in the U.S. for using a “defeat device” that tricked exam equipment during the emissions testing process. The company could also be smacked with lawsuits from angry customers who feel duped by Volkswagen’s advertising around its diesel cars, which promised better mileage and a greener ride. Here’s everything to know about the Volkswagen emissions crisis in one graphic:  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4046994/volkswagen-emissions-golf-crisis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4046994/volkswagen-emissions-golf-crisis/"},"headline":"Everything to Know About the Volkswagen Scandal in 1 Graphic","datePublished":"2015-09-23T19:36:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:35.789Z","description":"The company faces fines of up to $18 billion","url":"https://time.com/4046994/volkswagen-emissions-golf-crisis/","keywords":["Autos","Volkswagen"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Heather Jones","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/heather-jones/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4046994/volkswagen-emissions-golf-crisis/","name":"Everything to Know About the Volkswagen Scandal in 1 Graphic"}}]}] ```