Mahle’s chief executive uses the company’s annual press conference to attack the EU’s proposed ban on new internal-combustion-engine vehicles by 2035, claiming the move will cost “hundreds of thousands of jobs” in the economic bloc’s automotive industry.

CEO Arnd Franz tells the meeting that four out of five jobs will be lost if vehicle production is forced to switch completely to battery-electric vehicles, costing an estimated 235,000 jobs in direct vehicle production roles by 2040.

Franz quotes analysis from the European Assn. of Automotive Suppliers that suggests ICE technology’s extra complexity requires five times the factory staffing of e-mobility. The analysis adds the rise of BEV production has already seen the loss of 56,000 auto jobs in Europe alone over the last four years.

Franz previously criticized  the EU’s BEV-only mandate at last autumn’s IAA Transportation conference in Hanover, Germany, saying consumers must not be denied the power of choice.

His focus on job losses echoes warnings from Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda that a forced imposition of BEV technology on consumers could see the loss of millions of jobs in the global auto sector.

Mahle’s Global Bio-Mobility Center in Brazil has been developing expertise in commercial biofuel production for ICEs and Franz argues a diverse powertrain technology approach is the best way forward for Europe’s auto industry.

“Mahle stands for technological diversity with a view to achieving rapid, effective decarbonization of the mobility sector using all the levers available,” Franz says. “We are firmly convinced that the use of renewable fuels such as hydrogen, synthetic fuels and bio fuels will ensure that the internal combustion engine must, and will, make a key contribution to climate protection.

“This potential must not be underestimated or be ignored in view of the fact that internal combustion engines will remain relevant for decades to come in a global context.”

Franz says he welcomes the European Commission’s plan to review CO2 regulations later this year. He insists there has to be an injection of honesty into the debate on the best path to carbon neutrality, taking into account climate protection and its effects on employment and social policies.

“The Commission must specifically state how CO2 requirements can be shaped in a technology-neutral way,” Franz says. “In addition to BEVs we also need hybrid vehicles increasingly using renewable fuels if we are to rapidly reduce emissions and safeguard hundreds of thousands of jobs in Europe.”

He bemoans that Europe is going out on a limb with BEV mandates that are not being imposed in any other major market, apart from the U.K., and not even in the world’s largest BEV market, China.

“Europe must abandon its narrow battery-only approach because this will lead to an industrial and climate policy dead end because, in the final analysis, it will be the customer who will decide,” Franz says.

His comments came as the company outlined financial results from 2024 that sees €1.1 billion ($1.24 billion) wiped from its sales revenues compared with €12.8 billion ($14.48 billion) recorded the year before.

The sale of a business unit and its share of a joint venture, as well as 4,665 job cuts, led to a 3.6% increase in profit.

Mahle notes technological highlights in 2024 include the development of Mahle’s new bionic high-performance fan.

This innovation claims a 50% reduction in fan noise compared with conventional fans in fuel-cell vehicles and BEVs during battery charging or at full load.

There’s also a new evaporative cooling system for fuel-cell trucks and the integration of the Superior Continuous Torque electric motor with liquid management in a fully electrified drive axle for heavy-duty trucks.

Nonetheless, Franz accepts that the forecast for the coming year remains extremely challenging and likely to become even tougher.

“In addition to the challenges in connection with the transformation of our industry which has been made significantly more difficult in Europe through a lack of commitment to technological diversity, we are now faced by massive burdens as a result of the import tariffs recently imposed by the (U.S.) on all imports,” Franz says.

“As a globally active company committed to free and fair trade, we cannot understand this trade policy” placing a huge burden on automotive supply chains and result in cost increases for the automotive industry and in the final resort to higher costs for consumers, he says.