Volkswagen sees close race with Tesla for electric car sales through 2025

Volkswagen faces a difficult road ahead to reach its goal of becoming the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles by 2025, its chief executive said on Monday, admitting that rival Tesla is moving faster than expected. .

“It will be a close race, but we are not giving up on it,” Herbert Diess told a conference on the future of the automobile. “I must say that we did not expect our main competitor from the United States to be so quick and well prepared,” he added.

Diess was heavily criticized last year for regularly comparing Volkswagen to Tesla and highlighting the company’s agility and speed to put pressure on the German automaker’s established structures.

Tesla this year opened its first European factory near Berlin, challenging Volkswagen and fellow German rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz on its turf, while Diess said he expects Tesla’s growth to be challenging.

Diess said he still sees a chance Volkswagen can overtake Tesla and become the world’s No. 1 by 2025, pointing to its wider product offering, which includes luxury and premium cars as well as high-volume brands.

On the United States, where Volkswagen aims to more than double its market share to 10%, Diess said that will require an additional factory as well as local battery production.

Source: CNN Brasil

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