VW Admits Tesla And Daimler Are Leading Charge In Electric Commercial Vehicles

Volkswagen has admitted that it is lagging behind the likes of Tesla

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by Brad Anderson

September 19, 2017 at 02:02

Volkswagen has admitted that it is lagging behind the likes of Tesla and Daimler in electrifying commercial vehicles.

Reuters reports that VW management board member Andreas Renschler told German publication Tagesspiegel that “maybe the German manufacturers were too slow. It could be.”

Daimler has been working hard on alternatively-powered trucks for many years and has already shown off all-electric and autonomous truck concepts. Similarly, Tesla will reveal an all-electric semi-truck next month as it too looks to push the commercial trucking industry into unexplored territory.

According to Renschler, “Tesla has set some important and good impulses in the industry. [VW is a] second mover, who would rather check a couple of times more whether the standards are right.”

It’s not just automakers getting in on the electric commercial vehicle craze. Last year, DHL introduced a fleet of electric delivery vans that it built in-house. It intends on boosting production to 20,000 units annually be the end of the year.