VW Will Start Throwing Its Weight Around to Beat Tesla
With automakers rushing into the EV market like Forty-niners, they inevitably look towards Tesla.
Volkswagen is no exception to that trend and now Herbert Diess, VW’s CEO, says the automaker will be able to “stop” the current EV-leader because it has “abilities Tesla doesn’t have.”
Those abilities, for the record, are global scale and manufacturing expertise, which Diess describes as unmatched. And as the world’s largest automaker, there’s at least some credence to his argument.
Using that scale and manufacturing expertise, Diess not only hopes that VW will overtake Tesla, he intends for the people’s car to become the world’s leading EV maker.
To do that, they will need affordable cars. That will look like the I.D. concept, expected to arrive in 2019 or 2020.
Things look good for that car’s progress, too. Automotive News reports that the final design for the production version of the I.D. hatchback has been approved.
SEE ALSO: Volkswagen Has Two Electric ‘I.D.’ Sedans in the Works
Apparently dubbed the Neo, VW’s first MEB-based car will cost roughly the same amount as the Golf TDI it hopes eventually to replace.
The I.D. will eventually be followed by a flurry of vehicles based on the same platform, including the Crozz, the Lounge (a large SUV designed to appeal to Americans), the Aero-e (a “sporty” four-door sedan), and the Buzz.
That’s not to say, though, that Diess is taking this lightly.
“We have to be careful,” he told Automotive News, “because we have a lot of work in front of us and the challenges that lie ahead are enormous.”
[Source: Automotive News]
A version of this story originally appeared on VW Vortex
Sebastien is a roving reporter who covers Euros, domestics, and all things enthusiast. He has been writing about the automotive industry for four years and obsessed with it his whole life. He studied English at the Wilfrid Laurier University. Sebastien also edits for AutoGuide's sister sites VW Vortex, Fourtitude, Swedespeed, GM Inside News, All Ford Mustangs, and more.
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I have less than zero faith in VW post Dieselgate. As popular as their cars were before that, I was never a fan. Even though I really wanted to be. The company has always given me a "bad feel" and I don't know why, call it instinct. My perception of them now is akin to the dark side of the force. I've said before that the only way for them to really do well going forward is to electrify their fleet which would help make up for deceiving the public and show that they're making an effort to turn over a new leaf, so here's hoping they can do that and really deliver much needed affordable electric vehicles.