There was more than just the usual market chatter Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) On Tuesday, following the opinion of an analyst that the company will soon be replaced by a major competitor in the electric vehicles (NB) segment.
Gordon Johnson, who watches Tesla for GLJ Research, said Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY) will overtake the company in terms of sales of EV units this year. Volkswagen said on Tuesday that it aims to deliver 1 million EVs by 2021. Johnson, on the other hand, said Tesla said it expected a 50% increase in its delivery, but that it would land the company on a floor of nearly 750,000 units. for the year.
Image Source: Tesla Motors.
Volkswagen is clearly determined to be as much of a global EV power station as it has been in the internal combustion engine (ICE) market for years. In fact, on Tuesday, it also aimed to be the best EV maker in the world by 2025. Since it is only a few short years from here, we can expect the company to charge as hard as possible to achieve this ambition.
Whether this could come at the expense of Tesla is an open question, as Volkswagen has not yet been nearly as prominent in the US as in some of its other locations. Also, Tesla EVs still have a closet like higher-end cars, while Volkswagen is more focused on the mass market and therefore mostly has a less ‘cool’ range of models.
Neither Tesla nor its outspoken CEO Elon Musk has yet responded to Volkswagen’s latest statements.
Investors, however, may view the German company as a growing threat. Tesla shares fell 4.4% on Tuesday against the only marginal decline in the S&P 500 index.
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