Allegations of cheating on diesel emissions controls were only days old the last time the auto industry gathered for the Frankfurt auto show, and the ensuing headlines overshadowed whatever announcements carmakers had planned. So it was understandable that organizers were eager this year to move beyond that sullied spectacle, preferring to focus on a fresh wave of electrification plans and future mobility efforts.
But German chancellor Angela Merkel was in no mood to put the emissions scandals of her country?s largest automaker in the rearview mirror. With the CEOs of Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW in the audience at the opening ceremony of this year?s Frankfurt show, she admonished industry leaders for their roles in jeopardizing the German economy and urged them to take full account of the diesel scandal before turning attention toward a future filled with autonomous and electric cars. ?Living in the future means learning from our mistakes,? she said. ?Companies misused loopholes and not only hurt themselves but cheated the government and consumers. They need to regain trust as quickly as possible.?
For anyone who doesn?t remember, Volkswagen duped regulators by installing software that circumvented testing on millions of vehicles, which, unchecked, then spewed nitrogen-oxide emissions that exceeded permissible levels in the United States by as much as 40 times. That news broke in the midst of the 2015 Frankfurt show.

?
?We have to charge toward emission-free mobil...