Volkswagen plans to double staff numbers at its charging and energy division, roll out new payment technology next year and strike more alliances to take on Tesla in a key electric vehicle (EV) battleground: power infrastructure. By ensuring there are enough fast-charging plugs – and enough power – for the EVs it wants to sell, Europe’s biggest carmaker hopes to convince drivers worried about battery ranges that they can ditch their fossil fuel cars for good.
Underlining its electric ambition, Volkswagen has drafted in power industry veteran Elke Temme, who spent nearly two decades at German energy companies RWE and Innogy, to help the carmaker get in better shape to take on Tesla. In the job since January, Temme, 53, has been tasked with bundling the carmaker’s various power activities such as procuring energy, enabling customers to charge their cars at home, and on the road, and selling the electricity required.
Getting this done will require a bigger workforce and Temme plans to double the staff at Volkswagen’s European charging and energy division, known as Elli, to about 300 in 2022, having already tripled it this year, she told Reuters in an interview. “We’re investing in huge growth areas that don’t always have to be profitable right away. We always see these investments in the overall context of our group strategy,” she said. “That’s why building up a comprehensive infrastructure is key.”
Temme declined to specify the budget she has been given but said Volkswagen, led by Tesla admirer Herbert Diess, has approved the investment requests for the division, which also sells home battery storage systems similar to Tesla’s Powerwall. Volkswagen leads the pack worldwide by far with its investment plans for EVs and batteries through 2030, according to a Reuters analysis, and it is planning to spend 35 billion euros on battery EVs by 2025.
But when it comes to the networks of fast-chargers that many analysts believe are crucial for bringing EVs into the mainstream, VW has some catching up to do. Tesla has been rolling out high-performance Superchargers for years and has a global network of about 30,000 fast-chargers that it says can give a 200 km (125 mile) boost in 15 minutes. The company said in October that its own network has doubled in the past 18 months – and will triple over the next two years.
Volkswagen, meanwhile expects its network of fast-chargers to nearly quadruple to about 45,000 by 2025 – when it aims to overhaul Tesla as the global EV market leader – with 18,000 EV pumps in Europe, 17,000 in China and 10,000 in North America. Volkswagen in March said it plans to spend 400 million euros on expanding its fast-charging network on the continent by then. But that’s a drop in the ocean compared with the 5 billion euros the European Union reckons is needed every year until 2040 to expand charging infrastructure on the continent, and it is raising the pressure on utilities and governments to step up.