Tesla has been praised for its new mega factory in Brandenburg outside Berlin. It is planned that the factory will be able to produce up to 500,000 cars a year.
Earlier this week, the German Minister of Trade and Industry stated that “Musk will get all the support he needs”, which seems to have caused the German car giant Volkswagen to wake up from its slumber.
“Volkswagen is in a position where the company can catch up with Tesla both in terms of electric car production and software development,” Bernd Osterloh, head of Volkswagen’s works council, told the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Will catch up with Tesla
Osterloh in no way believes that the production capacity of 300,000 to 500,000 cars is outstanding.
– If Tesla sets up three factories, they will be able to produce between 900,000 and 1.5 million cars. By 2023, we will achieve the same – maybe even earlier, says Osterloh.
The German explains that it is Volkswagen’s strong foundation that will make it possible to keep up with Tesla’s production figures.
Volkswagen uses the same skeleton for all of their electric models. This means that efficiency is maintained and that the models can be pumped out of the factories at record speed.
Technological innovations
Another point that Tesla is almost unbeatable on is that they have so much data. They use the technology in their cars to collect data on driving patterns and use the data to produce, for example, autopilot.
Osterloh emphasizes that the engineering team at Audi, which is owned by Volkswagen, is working hard to develop technology for their cars. However, he is aware that Volkswagen is not far from catching up with Tesla.
– Their advantage is that they already have the technology in the cars and can collect data. But when we get our systems into the cars, we will collect much more data much faster, Osterloh believes.
Tesla’s hope is that they can start production there of the car model Model Y in 2021. The construction of the factory has met with resistance due to the fact that it means that you have to cut forest.
“Everyone knows that German engineering is unique, and these are some of the reasons why we will be setting up our giant factory in Europe in Germany,” Musk said during Germany’s Golden Steering Wheel last autumn.
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