GM, Ford, Volkswagen All Gunning for Tesla’s EV Crown

Electric vehicles are gaining a lot of momentum and most automakers have ambitious plans for the next few years. Can any of them catch Tesla as the global EV sales leader? If so, which one will it be?

Here are three that are gunning for Tesla’s crown…

General Motors

General Motors can “absolutely” catch Tesla in U.S. sales of electric vehicles by 2025, CEO and Chair Mary Barra said last fall. Analysts at LMC Automotive agree with her, expecting GM to surpass Tesla as the country’s largest EV seller when the midway point of the decade arrives.

GM plans to sell 30 EV models globally by 2025, including 40 percent of its North American lineup. Leading the way are the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac LYRIQ and Chevrolet Silverado EV. But there will also be cheaper, more mainstream products like a battery-powered Chevy Equinox and Blazer, plus a new entry-level EV that’s still a mystery at this point.

With more selection and especially lower prices, GM indeed has a good chance to catch Tesla in the coming years.

Ford

“We plan to challenge Tesla and all comers to become the top EV maker in the world,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said during a production launch event for the electric F-150 Lightning pickup. “That’s something that no one would have believed just two years ago from us. They’re going to look at this truck and believe it.”

While he didn’t attach a time frame to that goal, Farley said that will come down to product execution over the next four years, stressing that the Blue Oval has “every intention” of being the top electric pickup maker in the world. Deliveries of the F-150 Lightning started in recent weeks while Tesla’s Cybertruck won’t enter production before 2023.

Ford plans to have the capability of producing 600,000 EVs globally by 2023 (Tesla, by comparison, delivered more than 930,000 units last year) and 2 million by 2026.

Volkswagen

Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess has repeated several times that he hopes to overtake Tesla by 2025, calling it a “tight race.” According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the German powerhouse should be able to able to take the crown from Tesla in 2024, one year earlier than Diess’ best expectations.

Energized by the addition of 16 new EV models, the report predicts VW Group will leapfrog Tesla in 2024 and just hold on to that lead in 2025.

In North America, more than 25 new EVs will be launched across Volkswagen’s various brands by 2030. At that point, EVs should account for 55 percent of its total sales.

Following the existing ID.4 and the recently unveiled ID. Buzz that’s set to hit the market in 2024, the Volkswagen brand will introduce new electric SUVs from 2026. As for the other brands, Audi’s e-tron lineup will significantly expand, while Porsche is preparing to launch zero-emission Macan and 718 models by 2025. The first all-electric Bentley and Lamborghini cars will follow in the second half of the decade.

So, which one of GM, Ford and Volkswagen do you think will beat Tesla?