The CEO of Daimler emphasized the importance of low-emission technologies and innovation on Friday, telling CNBC that the automotive industry was "in the middle of a transformation."

"Next to the things that we know well -- to build, frankly, the world's most desirable cars -- there are two technological trends that we're doubling down on: electrification and digitization," Ola Källenius told CNBC's Annette Weisbach.

The Stuttgart-headquartered firm was "pouring billions into these new technologies," he added, stating they would "drive our path towards CO2 free driving."