While automakers and regulators are attempting to cut greenhouse emissions, there is one part of the U.S. automotive market that still has an appetite for more traditional engines, the CEO of Valeo told CNBC on Tuesday.
Jacques Aschenbroich, the chief executive officer of auto parts maker Valeo, told CNBC that the auto sector in Europe and China are heading towards – electrification. But that doesn't entirely apply to the U.S.
"In Europe and in China we will go to electrification. We don't know yet at what speed. The U.S. is not a single market," he noted.
"If you take a look at California or the Eastern states of the U.S. they are very much focused on reducing CO2 emissions and have special regulations," Aschenbroich said.
"So we might see two different markets. Some of them being very much orientated towards the antipollution or the reduction of pollution and maybe the rest being much more open to traditional engines."
The French auto parts maker announced Tuesday higher mid-term sales and profit margins, which sent its shares slightly higher. The company, which develops self-driving and self-parking systems, has seen its shares double in only two years and is up 46 percent over the past year.
The secret is "innovation, it's all about innovation," he said.