Photo: Volkswagen
Despite being twice as fast as Volkswagen in many ways, one executive from the German automaker said on Wednesday that Tesla needs to find the right employees and ramp up its factory production to win the electric vehicle (EV) race.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess says that the automaker’s momentum will make the race with Tesla “tight in coming years,” according to Reuters.
During the CAR Symposium conference in Bochum, Germany, Diess said, “There’s a lot coming from our side too… a lot of momentum. It will certainly be tight in coming years.”
The news comes just a few months after Tesla established its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg in Grünheide, Germany — expected to offer the company a major competitive advantage alongside the new Giga Texas facility.
Deiss acknowledged Tesla is “moving very fast, very focused”, noting CEO Elon Musk is “twice as fast as the rest of the industry,” reports Bloomberg. The rest of the automotive industry needs to speed up in its production of electric vehicles with software, said the VW CEO.
Still, Volkswagen launched its second EV factory in Germany last month in Emden, where it plans to produce the ID.4.
Additionally, Volkswagen’s Diess said the automaker expects EV sales to match gas car sales profits sooner than previously expected.
Volkswagen also launched pre-orders for its ID Buzz last month, in addition to announcing plans to develop the Volkswagen Scout EV brand featuring an electric pickup and SUV to launch in 2026.
