(Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said Germany's vaunted auto industry is headed for a rough patch, predicting consumers will put off new-vehicle purchases and wait for manufacturers to switch over to electric cars.
German car companies are on the precipice of transforming their fleets to electric as soon as 2021, Fink said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's Erik Schatzker.
“If you were a consumer today, would you wait for that lifetime change of automobiles?” Fink said Thursday. “I think the answer is they will. I actually think you're going to see a momentary slowdown in car demand. People are going to wait for that '21 model, '22 model.”
Fink, 66, called for Germany to increase fiscal spending to prepare cities and autobahns for the electrification of cars, and said he's delivered this message to government leaders.
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--With assistance from Erik Schatzker.
To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Trudell in New York at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Gabrielle Coppola
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