Volkswagen head Herbert Diess on Sunday said autonomous cars, not electric vehicles, were the "real game-changer" for the auto industry, which is facing the end of combustion engines in Europe by 2035.
Diess' comments signal the pace at which the 62-year old is trying to transform Europe's largest carmaker by basically saying that the shift toward battery-powered electric vehicles, which still needs to be backed up by actual sales, was sealed.
"Autonomous driving is really going to change our industry like nothing else before," Diess said in Munich ahead of the official opening of the IAA Mobility Show, adding the shift towards electrified cars was "kind of easy" in comparison.