ELECTRIFIED FUTURE LOOMING

CARMAKERS brace for shocks as electrified future looms.

Auto industry executives gathering this week for the Paris Motor Show will be rubbing shoulders with unusual company : dozens of tech experts eager to tackle what many consider the ultimate connected device.

Electric vehicles are the stars of this year's show, with premium brands like Mercedes and Audi finally jumping into the fray, but the promise of self-driving cars is also on display with dozens of start-ups on hand.

''Each of these new cars required 100 million lines of code : That's five to six times more than in a Boeing,'' Luc Chatel, head of the  French auto industry association, told executives on Monday.

The enthusiasm for the  electrified revolution is partly out of  necessity, as regulators and local officials try to cut down on the smog choking many large cities.

In Europe, carmakers are racing to comply with tough EU limits on CO2 emissions that take effect by 2021, and the introduction of tougher emission testing standards in the wake of the  'dieselgate'  cheating scandal.

After investing billions of dollars in new batteries despite a  still-uncertain payoff, companies are also betting that electric cars will help their bottom lines.

More reliable and with fewer moving parts than combustion engines, electric motors require for fewer workers to install and service.

But   industry chiefs know they won't be able to develop the full potential of an electrified, always-connected  future on their own.

Google, Nokia and French IT specialist  Atos  are among the  tech  groups  sending staff to the  Paris show with pledges to help automakers navigate their industry's  seismic shift.

The honor and serving of the  latest operational  research on Future, Technologies, Electric cars  continues.