Thursday, 25 March 2021 Reading time : 3 minutes

The market leadership of the American automaker Tesla in the field of electric vehicles seemed irrefutable for a long time, but now the three largest German automakers Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler are switching to the offensive and moving into the market with aggressive strategies.

"Power Day" - VW becoming a serious competitor in electric mobility with clear vision and capital

At the company's first "Power Day" on March 15, the group underlined the key role of solid-state battery development with the prospect of cost savings in manufacturing of up to 50%. As early as 2030, 80% of electric vehicle production is expected to use these battery technologies.

VW is impressively underlining this commitment through action: for example, with a 25% stake, VW is the largest investor in QuantumScape (QS UN Equity) - an emerging young company focused on the development of novel batteries. Volkswagen has also announced plans to build six new battery factories in Europe by 2030 to reduce dependence on Asian suppliers, and plans to provide 18,000 of its own charging stations in Europe by 2025.

BMW and Daimler with promising e-strategy

BMW entered the e-mobility market early with the i3 and i8 models, but was unable to scale this successfully, but now plans to regain market share in the electric car market; by 2030, at least half of all cars sold are to be electric. The Mini subsidiary will even produce only electric vehicles from 2030 and sell the last car with an internal combustion engine from the factory in 2025.

In the luxury class segment - a market not really served yet - Daimler claims market leadership with its Mercedes-Benz brand and offers the all-electric ESQ as an alternative to the S-Class. Not only the news portals but also the markets have reacted to this information.

German automakers appear not only well equipped for the most significant transformation of the industry in recent decades, but have the potential to become the driving force behind it.

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