A resounding warning is being sounded across the European automotive industry as China maintains its lead in the electric vehicle sector. Ralf Brandstetter, Volkswagen’s board member responsible for China, issued a warning, urging Europe to act quickly to avoid falling behind China and the United States in the electrification race.

“Europe must act because the US is also working on it”, Ralf Brandstetter said in an interview with AFP. He cited the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a US initiative to repatriate stages of electric vehicle production to the continental United States, as an example of US efforts in this area.

Is it too late?

According to Ralph Brandstetter, “Europe is a little ahead” when switching to electric mobility. The head of Volkswagen emphasized the lack of a holistic approach on the Old Continent, involving full coordination between companies, research, provision of raw materials and semi-finished products.

On the other hand, China has been implementing a “ecosystem for electric motorization”including production of batteries and materials for batteries. Volkswagen is looking to tap into this ecosystem to strengthen its position in Chinawhich accounts for about 40% of sales.

Although Volkswagen led China’s internal combustion engine market last year, the group accounted for just 3.1% of the EV market, far behind Chinese rivals such as BYD (18%) and America’s Tesla (8.7%) . ).

Volkswagen is preparing its weapon

To reverse this trend, Volkswagen plans to strengthen its strategy “in China for China” by locating production and design in China. According to Ralf Brandstetter, this decision would reduce the time needed to bring new products to the Chinese market by 30%. The group has already entered into several partnerships with Chinese companies, including Horizon Robotics, an artificial intelligence specialist.

Volkswagen’s latest announcements this summer show its commitment to China, with brands such as Volkswagen and Audi partnering with Chinese automakers XPeng and SAIC, respectively, to jointly develop electric vehicles for the Chinese market. This strategy aims to create a certain “self-sufficiency” activities of Volkswagen in China, which will make the group “more resilient in the face of possible policy measures arising from geopolitical tensions. »

Read also:
• Trucks of the future: electric or hydrogen?
• Tesla: the first copy of the Semi was delivered
• Renault Trucks will release new electric trucks