Tesla and VW are fighting for the top

Electromobility is picking up speed more and more – also in Germany. Tesla has long been considered the undisputed market leader. But VW is catching up. Experts are already expecting a replacement.

From Till Bücker, tagesschau.de Combating climate change is hardly conceivable without electromobility. In order to remain competitive, the German producers are catching up after initial hesitation – especially Volkswagen. “Let me make one thing clear right away: The battery has won the race,” said VW boss Herbert Diess at a recent event. The battery won. It is the “only remaining option to get traffic CO2-free.” The Wolfsburg-based group is relying on the transformation like hardly any other car manufacturer. The company plans to invest around 35 billion euros in the coming years. Around 70 all-electric models are planned by 2030. 60 percent of all new VW cars should then run on batteries.

Electromobility in Germany is making headway

German drivers also seem to be slowly getting involved with e-mobility – among other things, thanks to purchase premiums from the federal government and many new models. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), more than 13 percent of new registrations in 2020 were purely electric cars or plug-in hybrids that are equipped with a combustion engine in addition to the battery. For comparison: in 2016 it was less than one percent. The rise continues this year as well. In March alone, every tenth new car was battery-electric. The market share of cars with alternative drives (battery, hybrid or hydrogen) is currently 37.6 percent and thus higher than ever, as the KBA announced last week. The most popular brand in the first quarter of 2021 is VW. According to its own information, the group currently has a market share in e-mobility of just over 34 percent in this country.

Tesla is the “benchmark”

Despite its top position in its home market, another group is still number one among electric cars worldwide: Tesla. The market share of the California-based automaker, which announced its quarterly figures on Monday evening, fell in Germany from 30 percent in 2019 to nine percent most recently. From a global perspective, however, boss Elon Musk’s company is still ahead. The company sold last year almost half a million e-cars . That was 36 percent more than in the previous year. In the first quarter of 2021, Tesla delivered 184,800 vehicles – a new record. Above all in what is probably the most important market for electric cars in China, the US group has escaped the Germans. Every third Tesla is sold in the People’s Republic. Even on American roads, there is no getting around the electric pioneer when it comes to e-cars with a market share of 80 percent, as the data from the US new registrations show. “Tesla is an important benchmark for us,” Diess recently admitted. The VW boss is an avowed fan of Musk, and he regularly describes his company as the measure of all things in the automotive world. According to the economic sociologist Andreas Boes, who investigated the effects of the Tesla shock on German industry on behalf of IG Metall, Tesla is the harbinger of a new mode of production. The e-car manufacturer gave the decisive impetus for the change in the automotive industry. “The company from California puts its finger in the wound,” said Boes at the Hanover fair.

Tesla with competitive advantages

But what are Tesla’s strengths? What makes Musk & Co. a pioneer? “Tesla has actually set benchmarks in certain areas,” emphasized Stefan Bratzel, Director of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) at the Bergisch Gladbach University of Applied Sciences, in an interview with tagesschau.de . Without Tesla, electromobility would not have existed at this speed.

Stefan Bratzel is Director of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) at the Bergisch Gladbach University of Applied Sciences. Image: picture alliance / dpa Competitive advantages are, for example, the competence in battery technology, the control of their superchargers – i.e. fast charging stations – and their reliability. The German carmakers reacted too late on these points, and there are deficits, especially in the area of ​​charging infrastructure. VW only presented its plan in March to build six so-called gigafactories for the production of battery cells and to set up 18,000 public fast charging points. Another great advantage of Tesla is the special vehicle architecture with its own operating systems and chips. Volkswagen, on the other hand, is buying the software. “That puts Tesla in a position to be better than the German competitors,” said the auto expert. Tesla also has a lead in the production area. You manage to pull up plants within a short time and the degree of automation is also higher.

VW can reach the masses

However, when it comes to innovation in the battery-electric field, VW is catching up a lot and is on Tesla’s heels. In addition, the German group also has pluses. With the modular e-drive kit (MEB) he developed a functional system for the production of e-cars, with which, according to Bratzel, a large number of models can be set up: “Volkswagen is a specialist in rolling out such a strategy for different brands, Segments and regions. ” While Tesla offers a rather narrow model range and has long relied on premium products with the Model S and Model X, the VW Group also includes the brands Audi, Porsche, Skoda and Seat in addition to its own models such as the ID. “VW sometimes takes a little longer to implement an innovation, but can then quickly bring it to the masses via the series,” says Bratzel. The Wolfsburg-based company intends to sell more than a million e-cars annually worldwide by 2025 – including medium and compact classes. Another trump card: VW already has a global production network. Tesla is also trying to build up that – among other things through the new plant in Grünheide – but is still far behind, according to the expert. Advantages of western manufacturers are also the quality of the body, the chassis and the workmanship of the interior.

Will VW become the world market leader?

So could the German carmaker pose a serious threat to Tesla? “If things go well, the VW Group will become world market leader in electric cars in 2022”, Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Duisburg CAR Institute recently claimed in an interview with “DER AKTIONÄR”. Expert Bratzel also agrees with this: “The large number of models in particular can mean that Volkswagen has a great chance of becoming the world’s largest manufacturer in 2022 or 2023 even with pure electromobility,” he predicts tagesschau.de . For a long time, Tesla led the field by a large margin. But now there are competitors who could be dangerous for the Californians. It now remains to be seen which new innovations Tesla will bring out in order to maintain the lead: “The race is getting a lot closer – both in terms of innovations and sales figures.”