Automakers seek to electrify Geneva car show amid gloom
PARIS:
The Geneva Motor Show kicks off this week with automakers eager to show off new electric models, even as they nervously eye a horizon coloured by trade wars and Brexit uncertainty.
After years of growth and record profits, the sector took a sharp U-turn in mid-2018 amid an unexpected slowdown in China, which is by far the world’s biggest market, counting one out of three registered cars on the planet.
And with just three weeks to go before Britain is to leave the European Union on March 29, carmakers are bracing for the very likely possibility of a “no-deal Brexit”, which is expected to spell cataclysm for the industry.
The automakers heading for Europe’s biggest annual car show, which opens on March 7, are already suffering from the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing, and are wary about increased tariffs the US might slap on European imports.
On top of such tensions, carmakers have also been pushed to pump huge investments into electrifying their fleets in order to respect strict CO2 emissions standards that will take effect in the EU next year and be further tightened in the coming decade.
Following the tough conditions of 2018, manufacturers of cars and auto equipment “will see slim profits in 2019,” said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, who heads the Center for Automotive Research in Germany.
“We can already expect profit warnings, production reductions and job cuts,” he said. “This is not a good climate for a show filled with glitz and glamour.” — AFP