ABSTRACT: (DISCLOSURE OF ELECTRIC MOBILITY IN ANNUAL REPORTS OF AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES: RISKS, STRATEGIES, AND ENVIRONMENT).This paper intends to use the narrative section of annual reports to capture the role of electric mobility from the perspective of automobile companies. Since the electric mobility market is new and rapidly evolving, it may be of interest to investigate the vision communicated in the narrative section of annual reports of car manufacturers. In particular, the explorative analysis focuses on the following aspects of electric vehicles (EV): risks, strategies, and environmental impact. In addition, an analysis of the relation between economic performance and disclosure of electric mobility in annual reports is conducted. The research method is based on thematic content analysis applied to the narrative section of annual reports. The narrative section of annual financial statements has widen somehow the role of annual accounts from the area of financial communication to a business reporting tool covering several aspects of the business activity, allowing a form of integrated communication. For the empirical analysis, we used a sample of major companies active in the European automobile market. Content analysis shows that automobile companies emphasize the strategic role and the environmental impact of electric mobility, whereas the risks involved are discussed less. The information disclosed is mainly qualitative and non-financial and has a historical time orientation. From the analysis of the relation between the disclosure of electric mobility and economic performance, it appears that there is no significant link between company performance and an emphasis on electric mobility.
KEYWORDS: electric mobility, content analysis, annual reports.
