Confessions of an auto reporter
I have to make a confession.?
When I first started writing about the auto industry for the Wall Street Journal, now about a decade ago, Tesla was just beginning what would become a stellar, if not meteoric rise.?
I confess, I was skeptical to say the least.?
I was certain that if the Germans built the EVs, the customers would come in droves. But as we look forward to the EV battles of 2024, Tesla and China’s BYD are in a class of their own.?
The numbers don’t lie, and today’s numbers reported by my colleague Rebecca Elliot in her latest Tesla story show that Tesla has surprised on the upside again and has hit the ground running in the new year.?
Like many of you, until recently I wouldn’t have dreamed that the company giving Tesla a run for its money would come from China, but this story by Jacky Wong with the title, Surpassing Tesla, China’s BYD Will Take On the World in 2024, shows just how much the world has changed.
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The German manufacturers have spent tens of billions to build up an impressive stall of electric vehicles and hybrids. But no one is really talking about the race between Tesla and Volkswagen anymore.?
According to Germany’s automotive manufacturers’ group, VDA, the country’s carmakers have rolled out a combined 130 battery electric models. But Tesla, with about half a dozen models, is still selling more battery electric vehicles than all of the German manufacturers combined.
That leaves Volkswagen, as I wrote in my story this week, still chasing the elusive goal of building the electric “people’s car”.
Are we seeing the passing of an era? Are the manufacturers that have dominated the auto industry for a century or more fading in the rearview as newcomers take the stage? Or will Tesla & Co eventually run out of juice, ultimately overtaken by Big Auto?
The truth is, we just don’t know yet. But, man, what a ride.?
I help to embrace complexity, with care, curiosity and creativity - systemic strategy development, evaluation of impact and systems curation
1 年Maybe also zoom out and look at what Germany has (not) done in regards to education, digitalisation and open innovation. Instead, we are milking the cow with economies of scale and scope (Lopez, remember?) - unfortunately not much milk left, it appears.