Sharjah24 – AFP: Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said Germany's car industry could be "part of the solution" to the climate emergency, as she opened a major motor show for the last time.

Germany's leader of the last 16 years said she was convinced the transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2045 would be "a success" and touted her government's steps to support it by subsidising electric vehicles and the development of charging infrastructure.

The German car industry was previously seen as "reluctant" to embrace the switch to environmentally-friendly electric cars, Merkel said at the IAA motor show, before praising the progress that has been made.

The move to electric was accelerated by the "dieselgate" scandal in 2015, when German car giant Volkswagen admitted to fitting millions of vehicles with emissions-cheating devices.

Merkel, who has been a regular at the IAA over the years, earned the sobriquet the "car chancellor" for her efforts in the past to shield German carmakers from tougher EU pollution rules.

"The auto industry is not just part of the climate problem, but above everything else a central part of the solution," she told the conference hall in Munich.

Merkel cautioned, however, that European coordination would be needed in future to ensure "security for jobs" in the face of competition from countries where climate rules are less stringent.

Her opening speech at the IAA was her last as chancellor, before she steps down after the German elections on September 26.

The biennial IAA is mired in controversy this year as Germany struggles to adapt its flagship industry to the electric and digital revolution.

Environmental activists blocked motorways around Munich on Tuesday, while others brandished slogans like "Stop driving climate change".