Tesla Still Miles Ahead of German Carmakers, Says Analyst

Tesla is still miles ahead of the German carmakers, says an automotive analyst. In the first half of the year, the Texan manufacturer sold more electric vehicles than Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche combined.

Tesla holds the upper hand over the German brands

In the past few years, German automakers have announced bold plans to switch to electric vehicles. This is their challenge to Tesla’s dominance. However, instead of realizing their stated plans, they only fall further behind. In the first half of 2023, the Texas-based manufacturer delivered nearly 890,000 electric vehicles. That is more than Volkswagen AG, BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and Porsche AG combined, according to Bloomberg (via Sawyer Merritt/Twitter).

Tesla wins the Chinese market

German brands continue to fall behind as they have software issues. This delays the release of key car models and contributes to lower sales in China. The country has always been their largest market. However, it is now dominated by Tesla and local BYD. They also lose out in their home market, where Tesla remains the leading electric vehicle brand.

Tesla is the best employer & business manager

Tesla continues to drive sales growth through aggressive price cuts. With this, the company increases pressure on legacy manufacturers. Tesla’s electric vehicle sales rose 30 percentage points more than VW’s in the three months ended June.

“Tesla is still miles ahead of the German carmakers in all the major markets,” said Matthias Schmidt, an auto analyst based near Hamburg. “They’re under pressure to boost volumes to reach the kind of economies of scale needed to make EVs profitable.”

In addition, Tesla skillfully manages its business. The company stimulates its workers so that they do not want to join unions, and this is paying off enormously. While German brands are in difficult negotiations with unions to retool their production sites, Tesla plans to expand its factory in Germany and prepares to build a new facility in Mexico.

German manufacturers have lost technology superiority

In the past, German automakers prospered because they perfected the production of their cars. They had superior car parts, which gave them an edge in the automotive industry. But now, with the development of electric vehicles at a rapid pace, their high-tech superiority has evaporated. According to a survey released this month by the Munich-based Ifo Institute, German automakers’ expectations are at their lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.