Clean up your act – Merkel

CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel called on the German car industry to clean up its act for the sake of it employees and the wider economy as she opened the Frankfurt motor show yesterday, pointing to threats on the horizon to the combustion engine. “A lot of trust has been destroyed. That is why the industry must do everything to win back confidence, in its own interest and that of employees and German industry,” Merkel said. She noted that the Volkswagen emissions scandal had broken just after she opened the car show two years ago, adding that the industry faced many challenges, such as suggestions that China might eventually ban combustion engines. Merkel predicted that combustion engine vehicles would still be needed for decades, as demand was booming. – Reuters

SOUTH KOREA