autoevolution
 

VW Details Its Tesla-Beating Plan, Musk May Have to Branch Out to China Sooner

Recent days have shown us that Volkswagen is serious about its EV ambitions and it has its sights firmly set on Tesla, which the Germans apparently have identified as the segment leader.
VW I.D. CROZZ concept 33 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ ConceptVolkswagen I.D. CROZZ Concept
It was only a few days ago that Volkswagen Chairman Herbert Diess announced in a press conference that "anything Tesla can do, we can surpass," making everyone think of the famous "Anything You Can Do" song from the "Annie Get Your Gun" musical. But also of a brewing war in the EV segment.

It looks like one of the main battlefields for this confrontation is going to be the Chinese market, the place where government incentives and unbreathable air have turned EVs into hot-selling products. Well, that and the fact the Chinese market as a whole has been registering the greatest growth over the past few years.

Volkswagen has a self-imposed target of selling over one million PEVs (that's plug-in electric vehicles, in case you're not up to date with the terminology) by 2025, and Diess is confident the German automaker is going to reach it. Whether or not that will be enough to take the crown off of Tesla's head remains to be seen since Musk plans to ramp up production to 500,000 units annually as soon as next year.

However, a lot will depend on what happens in China. The CEO of Tesla has long identified the Asian country as a key player and expects it to become the place where his company sells most of its cars sooner or later.

The way things stand right now - and there's no reason to believe they will change anytime soon - foreign carmakers are hit by high import tariffs that boost their product's prices by up to 25 percent. The only way to bypass that is to build the vehicles on Chinese land, which in turn is impossible without a joint venture with a local business.

Volkswagen already has a few of those in place, having built three million vehicles in China last year alone. Tesla, on the other hand, is still probing, and it also lacks the financial and logistical might of the German manufacturer. Without local production facilities, Tesla's Model 3 - and any other vehicles that follow - might struggle against the more accessible Volkswagen I.D.s.

So far we've only seen a few concept cars and a lot of talk from Volkswagen in terms of competent electric vehicles, but the first I.D. models should hit the market by 2020. The Germans are believed to open with a crossover previewed by the I.D. Crozz concept, which incidentally just happened to be unveiled in Shanghai.

Tesla's first real test is just about to come: the legacy carmakers are starting to take it seriously and turning their guns on the Californian company. On the other hand, Musk always said this was what he wanted.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Vlad Mitrache
Vlad Mitrache profile photo

"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories