News
Volkswagen’s Diess wants 40 battery factories in Europe to handle EV overload
Volkswagen knows the future of the automobile industry is electric, and it is doing its best to transition its massive German stronghold into a series of large-scale electric vehicle production facilities. A company that is less than ten years out of a major scandal involving emissions cheat devices, VW is equipped with a new head since the Dieselgate scandal initially broke twelve years ago. Herbert Diess is likely the best man for the job: he’s charismatic, he’s driven, and he knows a thing or two about the auto industry. But most importantly, the man who runs Volkswagen knows that to keep up with the surge in electric vehicle popularity, his company will need more of everything, especially batteries, which he is preparing to produce in massive numbers if the European Union’s Green Deal is approved.
Ten years ago, Diess asked the head of China’s CATL, a battery supplier, if the company would ever transition away from smartphone batteries and toward EV cells. At the time, the answer was no. However, things often change, and CATL is now supplying some batteries for Tesla at Giga Shanghai. CATL’s ability to supply large volumes of batteries, paired with its tendency to innovate, makes it one of the industry’s powerhouses.
And while Diess, who has buddied up with Tesla frontman Elon Musk in the recent years, realizes that batteries are “typically supplier products,” he knows it doesn’t have to be like that. Tesla, which has already established itself as the global leader in electric vehicle development, is beginning to supply its own cells. This not only gives the company an advantage to control the way the batteries are made and the quality of the product itself, but it also reduces prices by a significant margin, 69% in Tesla’s eyes.
Diess realizes that if electric vehicles continue to surge in popularity, Volkswagen will need more, and it will likely have to take the route that Tesla is taking. If the Green Deal goes through, Volkswagen will need an estimated 40 large battery factories on the continent of Europe alone.
“If the EU’s Green Deal goes as it is, the battery factories announced so far in Europe will only cover around five to ten percent of demand. If the Green Deal comes, we will need 40 large battery factories in Europe,” Diess explained.
The Green Deal would maintain that the EU would have around 13 million EVs on the road by 2025. This will bring one million public charging stations to various European markets, solidifying the continent as the most friendly place to drive an electric vehicle globally. That all sounds great and wonderful, but Diess is right: companies are going to need cells.
(Credit: Herbert Diess/LinkedIn)
Volkswagen is in the process of building a battery factory in Salzgitter, Germany, together with Sweden’s Northvolt, Diess said. “This is an innovative, young, and still relatively small company,” and Volkswagen is still in the process of trying to solve the logistics of the whole operation. “That would be a manageable task for the large German suppliers,” Diess added in an interview with WirtschaftsWoche.
Diess’ approach for Volkswagen’s electric future is undoubtedly one that a company with the experience and dedication to automotive manufacturing can figure out. However, transitioning away from what legacy automakers have used for 100 years is proving to be a difficult task, and VW is no exception to the issues that come with building EVs. Although its ID.3 is due to roll out with fully functional software, it wasn’t always like that. Early buyers didn’t have simple functions like Apple CarPlay when they picked up their new EV from the German automaker.
But past the infotainment system, Volkswagen knows that batteries are really the bread and butter of this industry. Build a good cell, or source one, and you’re on your way, as long as you are committed to focusing purely on EVs for the future.
H/t: @Alex_Avoigt on Twitter
News
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Needless to say, it appears that Tesla is putting in some serious effort into boosting sales in Europe this year.
Tesla has been notably active across Europe in recent weeks, expanding its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along program, entering a new market, and showcasing its newest vehicles across multiple regions.
Needless to say, it appears that Tesla is putting in some serious effort into boosting sales in Europe this year.
Tesla Europe recently announced the expansion of its FSD (Supervised) ride-along experiences, inviting the public to experience the system on local roads. Initially available in Italy, France, and Germany when it launched, the program has now expanded to Hungary, Finland, and Spain.
The ride-along program allows participants to ride in the passenger seat and observe how FSD Supervised handles real-world traffic scenarios, including dense urban driving and other challenging conditions. Tesla has positioned the initiative as a way to familiarize European drivers and regulators with the system’s capabilities in everyday use. The program has received positive reviews so far, with many being impressed by FSD’s real-world capabilities.
Tesla also recently launched operations in Slovakia with a pop-up store and multi-day public event in Bratislava, as noted in an EV Wire report. The launch, held from January 16 to 18 at the Eurovea Mall Promenade, featured test drives, vehicle displays, including the Cybertruck, as well as family-focused attractions such as a mini-Tesla racetrack.
Local observers noted that Tesla Optimus was also shown at the event, while the Tesla Owners Slovakia club welcomed the brand with a coordinated light show near the Slovak National Theater. Tesla Europe later shared its appreciation for Slovakia in a post on its official social media account on X, stating, “Thanks, Slovakia, for the amazing last 3 days & for giving us such a warm welcome!”
Tesla’s Slovakia entry follows a familiar pattern used by the company in other European markets. Tesla opened a pop-up store in Bratislava as an initial step, with plans for a permanent showroom and a potential service center at a renovated site previously occupied by a Jeep and Dodge dealership. Tesla has used a similar approach in markets such as Czechia and Lithuania, where permanent facilities followed within a few months of pop-up launches.
Slovakia already has six Supercharging sites totaling 46 Superchargers, including two locations in Bratislava, providing early infrastructure support for Tesla owners. Tesla staff program manager Supratik Saha described the Slovakia launch as a strategic expansion in the heart of the EU, citing the country’s strong automotive manufacturing base and appetite for advanced technology.
Beyond the EU, the company also marked another milestone with the first Cybertruck deliveries in the United Arab Emirates, signaling continued geographic expansion for Tesla’s newest vehicle. Just like Tesla Slovakia, the Cybertruck also received a warm welcome from the UAE’s EV community.
News
Tesla Sweden maintains Trelleborg port deal despite union blockade
As noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA), Tesla was able to maintain its storage agreement with the Port of Trelleborg.
Tesla Sweden is still storing vehicles at the Port of Trelleborg despite the ongoing blockades against the company from the country’s labor unions.
Tesla still at Port of Trelleborg
As noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA), Tesla was able to maintain its storage agreement with the Port of Trelleborg. This allows the company to keep vehicles at the port while imports into Sweden continue. This was despite the Transport Workers’ Union’s blockade, which was aimed at halting the loading and unloading of Tesla vehicles in the area.
Local union leader Jörgen Wärja, chairman of Transport and an employee representative on the port company’s board, confirmed that the agreement was still active. “The agreement has not been terminated. You want to have the money instead of having empty warehouses. I understand the reason, but I do not support it,” Wärja said
The local union leader also noted that he visited Tesla’s storage area earlier this week. “There were a lot of cars. I was surprised that there were so many, actually,” he said.
Tesla had been able to bring vehicles into Sweden via passenger ferries at Trelleborg, a method that unions said allowed the company to bypass the blockade, DA noted. According to estimates from IF Metall, the workaround enabled Tesla to deliver thousands of cars to Sweden each year.
Port defends decision
The Port of Trelleborg did not issue a comment on its current agreement with Tesla, but said it had complied with union sympathy measures. Documents reviewed by Swedish media showed that the contract with Tesla was being extended in six-month intervals.
Port CEO Malin Collin noted that the port would not discuss individual customer arrangements. “We do not go into details regarding any customer agreements. We have continuous dialogue with potential tenants, and this is not unique to any location,” Collin wrote in an email.
The CEO added that the port was following legal requirements related to the labor dispute. “We have taken note of the Transport Workers’ Union’s decision on sympathy measures and are of course following applicable legislation and the requirements placed on us as employers,” Collin said.
Jörgen Wärja, for his part, stated that the issue was not whether Tesla’s imports into Sweden could be fully stopped, but whether the port should provide logistical support to the electric vehicle maker during an active conflict. “The port shouldn’t have anything to do with Tesla at all, we believe,” he said. “It’s purely moral. Whether you honor a conflict or not. If you say you support Transport’s sympathetic actions against Tesla, it becomes a double standard.”
Elon Musk
Elon Musk shares insights on SpaceX and Tesla’s potential scale
In a pair of recent posts on X, Musk argued that both companies operate in domains where growth is not linear, but exponential.
Elon Musk outlined why he believes Tesla and SpaceX ultimately dwarf their competitors, pointing to autonomy, robotics, and space-based energy as forces that fundamentally reshape economic scale.
In a pair of recent posts on X, Musk argued that both companies operate in domains where growth is not linear, but exponential.
Space-based energy
In a response to a user on X who observed that SpaceX has a larger valuation than all six US defense companies combined, Musk explained that space-based industries will eventually surpass the total economic value of Earth. He noted that space allows humanity to harness roughly 100,000 times more energy than Earth currently uses, while still consuming less than a millionth of the Sun’s total energy output.
That level of available energy should enable the emergence and development of industries that are simply not possible within Earth’s physical and environmental constraints. Continuous solar exposure in space, as per Musk’s comment, removes limitations imposed by atmosphere, weather, and land availability.
Autonomy and robots
In a follow-up post, Elon Musk explaned that “due to autonomy, Tesla is worth more than the rest of the auto industry.” Musk added that this assessment does not yet account for Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot. As per the CEO, once Optimus reaches scaled production, it could increase Earth’s gross domestic product by an order of magnitude, ultimately paving the way for sustainable abundance.
Even before the advent of Optimus, however, Tesla’s autonomous driving system already gives vehicles the option to become revenue-generating assets through services like the Tesla Robotaxi network. Tesla’s autonomous efforts seem to be on the verge of paying off, as services like the Robotaxi network have already been launched in its initial stages in Austin and the Bay Area.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Tesla Sweden maintains Trelleborg port deal despite union blockade
