Volkswagen Group is closing in on the competition with Tesla to reach the same level. According to the company’s statistics, the company marked a record sale of 231600 battery-electric vehicles last year. Although this number is below that of Tesla, it is a record increase exceeding 200%. Tesla is treating this approaching competitor keenly to ensure that it does not surpass it. The chief executive of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Ralf Brandstätter, stated that they are scaling up operations to start competing with the mega battery electric vehicle companies.
The company’s bestseller in the battery electric vehicle product line is ID.3 and managed to sell over 50000 units. Moreover, the e-Golf and other smaller brands developed by the company sold over 63000 units to put the company among the top electric vehicle sellers. On the other hand, Audi introduced over 47000 SUVs and Sportback models, even as the customers requested over 20000 electric Porsche Taycans. Additionally, these two companies sold hybrid cars, with Volkswagen making a record 190500 in unit sales to approach 200% sales than the previous year’s records. Brandstätter stated that last year was a milestone in the electric vehicle industry.
Nevertheless, Tesla is still the leader in the electric vehicle industry. The Elon Musk Company managed to supply 500000 electric vehicles last year, according to its annual report posted at the beginning of this month. Production increased to beat the previous year’s records with the company utilizing its facilities, although the mega manufacturing facility in Fremont shut down for some months due to the pandemic. The company shifted attention to the Chinese market and is in the process of developing a facility to meet the demands of this market.
Investors channeled their funds into Tesla, making it a high-value company with an $805 billion market value. This value exceeds that of Volkswagen Group over seven times, although the German automaker manufactures more vehicles. Volkswagen is divesting from other projects and cashing $43 billion into electric vehicles to expand the market value and production capacity. Moreover, the company has lined up 70 battery-electric vehicles before the end of this decade while strategizing to reach the level of Tesla. Other companies entering the rival scheme include BMW, which deployed close to 45000 battery-electric vehicles last year, and hybrids exceeding 148000. On the other hand, Daimler unveiled over 150000 hybrid cars and battery electric vehicles. Volkswagen is extending its efforts to prove to customers that it can also manufacture electric vehicles instead of the emissive ICE cars.
