European car bosses gathering for the Frankfurt auto show are beginning to address the realities of mass vehicle electrification, and its consequences for jobs and profit, their minds focused by government pledges to outlaw the combustion engine.
As the latest such announcement by China added momentum to a push for zero-emissions motoring, Daimler, Volkswagen and PSA Group made disclosures about their electric programs that could give policymakers some pause.
Planned electric Mercedes models will initially be just half as profitable as conventional alternatives, Daimler warned - forcing the group to find savings by outsourcing more component manufacturing, which may in turn threaten German jobs.
"In-house production is almost irrelevant to the consumer," Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche told reporters and investors on the eve of the Frankfurt show, speaking in the midst of a German election campaign in which automotive jobs have loomed large.
Volkswagen, for its part, said it was seeking new global supplier contracts to source 50 billion euros of electric car content including batteries, which are not yet manufactured competitively in Europe.
"A company like Volkswagen must lead, not follow," Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told reporters.
VW diesel emissions-cheating exposed by US regulators triggered global public outrage, dozens more investigations into test-rigging by the wider industry and a push by some lawmakers to ban diesel and eventually all engines.
Tesla Inc shares jumped nearly six per cent on Monday after a Chinese minister said it was a question of when, not if, Beijing bans fossil-fuel cars, tightening the rhetorical noose around the combustion engine. France and Britain have promised its outright abolition by 2040.
But PSA, the maker of Peugeots and Citroens, said it was concerned about the risks if consumers are left behind in the rush, and a new generation of battery cars does not sell.
"If it doesn't gain acceptance in the market, then everybody - industry, employees and politicians - has a big problem," PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said in a pre-show interview with German weekly Bild am Sonntag.
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