Herbert Diess
Tesla, BYD and VW are leaders in the electrical world – “then nothing will come for a long time”.
(Photo: IMAGO/regios24)
Herbert Diess has not officially belonged to the top management caste of the German auto industry for about a year. Nevertheless, the former Volkswagen CEO and former BMW board member looked at the latest innovations in the industry at the IAA Mobility in Munich.
He likes the concept of this year’s IAA, said the 64-year-old during a brief stop at the IAA press center. He also praised the appearances of his old employers: The new 5 Series from BMW was “great”, and the “New Class” platform concept also had “great proportions”.
He congratulated his youngest employer, VW, on the “successful” GTI concept and expressed his surprise: “I honestly didn’t know that!”
He also found technical innovations such as those from the provider Eve exciting. The Chinese company produces battery cells with an ultra-high energy density.
Diess believes it is the right step for the German automotive industry to move closer to China and to drive innovation in cooperation. BMW with Great Wall Motors, Daimler with Geely, Volkswagen with Xpeng – “this is the new reality”. It is good for everyone if you combine the “speed of productivity of the Chinese with the automotive understanding and the strong brands of the Europeans”.
VW, Tesla and BYD leaders in the electric world
Volkswagen announced the platform cooperation with the Chinese car start-up Xpeng in August and took a little over six percent of the company for 700 million US dollars.
The ex-VW man is also more relaxed about the position of Germans in China than many industry observers. Worldwide, Tesla is number one in the electrical world, followed by BYD, then VW and “then nothing comes for a long time”. Tesla and BYD are founding companies that have no traditional business, said Diess.
Measured against this, Volkswagen’s position is stable. From the point of view of the ex-boss, the Wolfsburg-based company could therefore look at China with “concentrated composure”.
Volkswagen no longer market leader in China
In the first half of this year, BYD from Shenzen overtook the core Volkswagen brand in terms of new registrations in China and is now the new market leader there – for the first time in decades, VW is no longer the market leader in the People’s Republic. During his time as VW CEO, Diess was also responsible for the China business at the highest level.
The fact that he is open to cooperation with the East could also be related to the fact that Diess is currently making deals in China. He submitted an application for funding “for a large joint venture with China”, which is now with the authorities.
It’s about big projects in Spain, Hungary and Germany. Diess recently focused more on investments in the solar industry and wants to bring the industry back to Europe. The People’s Republic currently has a virtual monopoly on solar technology.
More: BYD Europe boss in an interview: “We want to become a leading international manufacturer in Germany”
First publication: 05.09.2023, 7:12 p.m.