Volkswagen powers up the grid to take on Tesla

Volkswagen (VOWG p.DE) is set to double the number of employees in its charging and energy division, introduce new payment technology next year, and take on Tesla (TSLA.O) in one More alliances are planned. The Key Electric Vehicle (EV) Battleground: Power Infrastructure.

 

Europes biggest carmaker hopes to convince drivers concerned about battery range by ensuring they have enough fast-charging plugs and enough power for electric cars that they can give up their fossil fuel cars for good.

 

Outlining its electric ambition, Volkswagen has drafted in electric industry veteran Elke Temme, who has hired German energy companies RWE (RWEG.DE) and German energy companies RWE (RWEG.DE) to help the carmaker get in better shape to take on Tesla. Spent almost two decades at Innogy.

 

In the job since January, Temme, 53, has been tasked with the carmakers various power activities such as procuring energy, enabling customers to charge their cars at home and on the road, and selling essential electricity.

 

Accomplishing this will require a larger workforce and Temme plans to double the workforce in Volkswagens European charging and energy division, known as Ally, to about 300 in 2022, with it already this year. has tripled, he told Businesshala in an interview.

 

We are investing in huge growth areas that are not always profitable. We always look at these investments in the overall context of our group strategy, she said. Thats why building a comprehensive infrastructure is important.

 

Temme declined to specify the budget given to him, but said that Volkswagen, led by Tesla fan Herbert Diess, has approved investment requests for the division, which also sells home battery storage systems similar to Teslas Powerwall. Is.

 

Volkswagen leads the pack worldwide with its investment plans for EVs and batteries by 2030, a . According to Businesshala analysis, and it plans to spend 35 billion euros on battery EVs by 2025.

 

But when it comes to the network of fast-chargers many analysts believe are key to bringing EVs into the mainstream, VW has some catching up to do.

 

Tesla has been rolling out high-performance superchargers for years and has a global network of about 30,000 fast-chargers, which it says can accelerate to 200 km (125 miles) in 15 minutes.

 

The company said in October that its own network had doubled in the past 18 months and would triple in the next two years.

 

Meanwhile, Volkswagen expects to nearly quadruple its network of fast-chargers to 45,000 by 2025 when it aims to overhaul Tesla as the global EV market leader pumping out 18,000 EVs in Europe, 18,000 in China. 17,000 and 10,000 in North America.

 

In March Volkswagen said it planned to spend 400 million euros on expanding its fast-charging network across the continent by then.

 

But thats a drop in the sea compared to the 5 billion euros the EU expects by 2040 to expand charging infrastructure on the continent, and is increasing pressure on utilities and governments.

 

In Europe, Volkswagen Group is a shareholder in the EU fast-charging venture Ionity along with rival carmakers BMW (BMWG.DE), Daimler (DAIGn.DE), Mercedes-Benz, Ford (FN) and Hyundai (005380.KS) . ,

 

It has teamed up with energy firms such as Italys Enel (ENEI.MI), Britains BP (BP.L) and Spains Iberdrola (IBE.MC) to bridge geographic gaps and how funding for EV infrastructure can be divided , its blueprint has been prepared. across industries.

 

Different models can be envisioned, from product partnerships and joint ventures to M&A, Teme said.

 

Tesla has already shown that when it comes to EVs, just selling the car doesnt cut it. It has adopted a model that offers customers everything from cars to battery storage to solar panels Lightning In some US states.

 

Volkswagen is now selling power to retail customers who drive EVs or plug-in hybrids. Teme said one of its tariffs which is available to customers who dont have VW has attracted more than 10,000 customers since its launch in July.

 

It said VW was planning to make its fast-charger available to all EV drivers, unlike Tesla, which has so far only kept its supercharging network for Tesla drivers with the exception of a pilot program in the Netherlands.

 

We are taking a different approach than Tesla when it comes to charging infrastructure roll-out, Teme said.

 

We want an open, non-discriminatory charging network and will evolve our services to make our offerings more comfortable, simpler, more attractive.

 

Volkswagen says its open-to-all approach means that buyers of its EVs can charge at more than 250,000 existing public charging points across Europe with different charging speeds from different providers.

 

The problem is that charging protocols and payment methods can vary across vendors, potentially turning the task of refueling an EV into a time-consuming and messy undertaking.

 

From the first quarter of 2022, Volkswagen plans to offer plug and charge technology in Europe to simplify the process.

 

The car will store the owners payment details and make contactless payments when the charging plugs are connected to the EV at the refueling stations set up for the service.

 

While these are new challenges for the established carmaker, Temme, who abruptly shifted Germanys utilities away from nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, believes they can be mastered.

 

He said, Utilities must reinvent themselves and transition from nuclear and coal to renewable energy. In the automotive industry, including Volkswagen, the question currently is how to shift the constant focus from conventional vehicles to sustainable mobility, He said.

 

These challenges are of equal magnitude.

 

($1 = 0.8738 Euro)