Volkswagen doesn't expect electric cars to hurt profit margins

Volkswagen does not expect the shift in production toward electric cars aimed at averting billions of euros in European pollution fines to hurt its profit margins, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said in a newspaper report on Monday. Orders for the VW ID.3, the group's recently unveiled compact electric model, are already covering the production planned until mid-2020, Diess said. Last month at Frankfurt Motor Show Germany's premium automakers marketed electric cars as their flagship models to lure customers away from gas-guzzling SUVs.