While Tesla is paving the way in electric cars, VW is buying software companies and ramping up investments in sustainable vehicles and battery cells, Diess said Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Volkswagen has started building its first mass-market EV, the ID3, in Germany. The compact hatchback will be a rival to Tesla’s Model 3, which has helped lift the U.S. automaker’s sales in Europe.
Still, Tesla has a competitive edge in electric cars and software, technologies that are underpinning a shift toward cleaner mobility. The threat is underscored by Musk’s plan to etablish a factory close Berlin in the heart of Germany’s automotive industry.
Diess last week called on his top managers to speed up overhaul efforts to make the company more agile or risk being pushed aside.
“The company which adopts fastest and is most innovative but also which has enough scale in the new world will make the race. 2020 for the auto industry will be a very difficult year, but we’re doing the right things to be competitive ” Diess said last week.
