Volkswagen CEO Believes It Will Overtake Tesla in EV Sales by 2025

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Volkswagen is coming off of a great year for its electric-vehicle sales. In 2021, the German brand roughly doubled the number of battery-powered electric cars it sold globally. The Volkswagen Group, which includes quite a few brands, sold a total of 452,900 all-electric cars and 310,000 plug-in hybrids. With VW and its brands going all-in on EVs, it's a good sign. 

VW Has Momentum

With 2021 being such a good year, Volkswagen's CEO, Herbert Diess, believes that good things are in store for the German automaker. Diess believes that VW, which is the largest automaker in Europe, can overtake Tesla to become the world's largest seller of EVs by 2025. Speaking with CNBC, Diess claimed that alleviating supply chain issues would help give the German automaker momentum for the next few months. 

"Tesla currently is in the lead when it comes to EVs, probably also it is the most digital car company already and they have some advantages," Diess said. "We are still aiming at keeping up and probably overtaking by 2025 when it comes to sales." Diess admitted that Tesla has been able to post high returns with its credible business model and has had good results, but believes that VW will be able to close the gap soon. 

"I think for Tesla, also, ramping up now will probably be a bit more challenging. They are opening up new plants and we are trying to keep up speed. We think in the second half of the year, we are going to create some momentum," stated Diess. 

Supply Chain Issues To Improve

The automotive industry is currently facing a serious supply chain issue because of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. Not only are chips in short supply, but with nearly every automaker is looking to shift toward EVs, other necessary components are also becoming hard to find. Despite the ongoing situation, Diess sees things changing for the better in the near future. The CEO believes that most of the issues automakers are having with the current supply chain will ease by the middle of the year. 

"I would say that we would see an alleviation of this situation towards mid-year and second half we should be in better shape – if the situation is not getting any worse, which I don't think so," said Diess. 

Volkswagen hasn't been quiet about its intentions to switch to EVs. The German automaker believes that electric cars will account for half of all of the automaker's sales by 2030. Because of the semiconductor chip shortage, the Volkswagen Group only sold 8.6 million vehicles in 2021, down 6.3% compared to the previous year. In 2021, Tesla delivered 936,222 all-electric cars. 

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods