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VW's Reputational Fallout

VW cheating scandal - who knew what and should the firm go green to restore its reputation? Plus, how are China's small investors adapting to the risks of capitalism.

What exactly is going on at Volkswagen? In the wake of the scandal over the company's car emissions, we get the thoughts of Martin Leach, chairman of the Magma Group which advises car firms on mergers, and a former chairman of Ford Europe. He says its impossible that high-level executives at the German company did not know about the cheating. So could this crisis mark the end of the road for VW, or is it an opportunity for a handbreak turn?

Perhaps the whole car industry needs to become greener. Freya Williams of the global sustainability consulting firm, Futerra, has written a book, Green Giants: How Smart Companies Turn Sustainability into Billion-Dollar Businesses, in which she examines a number of leading multi-national firms which have made a virtue of the transition, turning it into an opportunity for big profits.

Finally, our Taipei correspondent, Cindy Sui, reflects on her own Chinese relatives to examine what the recent stock-market crash reveals about Chinese people's attitudes to investment.

(Photo: Volkswagen stand at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Credit: Getty Images)

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18 minutes

Last on

Wed 23 Sep 2015 07:32GMT

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  • Wed 23 Sep 2015 07:32GMT

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