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03/04/21
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UBS study: Volkswagen joint world leader for electric cars as early as 2022

Well able to compete with Tesla, and a benchmark for other car manufacturers: that is how Patrick Hummel, Head of European and US Auto & Mobility Research at UBS, assesses the MEB electric platform from Volkswagen. For a study on behalf of UBS, “ID.3 teardown: The biggest EV opportunity – Buy“, published on March 2, specialists broke down the fully electric ID.3 into its individual parts. The result: The ID.3 based on the modular electric drive matrix (MEB), is Volkswagen’s entry ticket to the electric age and the most impressive solution available from an established automotive company.

Archive
The backbone of the electric offensive is the modular electric drive matrix (MEB).

With publication of this study, UBS analysts have increased the 12-month target for Volkswagen stock by 50%, from €200 to €300. Their recommendation is to buy. “The market has been waiting for our BEV-ramp-up and wanted to see some proof points, so here we are…,” wrote Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, on LinkedIn.

Key findings of the study:

  • The MEB platform on which the Volkswagen electric offensive is built is fully cost-competitive with US electric pioneer Tesla.
  • Volkswagen is achieving peak performance in terms of efficiency, scalability and the energy density of its batteries.
  • When it comes to battery cell costs, the Volkswagen ID.3 is among the top 3 worldwide at around USD 100 per kilowatt hour.
  • Electric cars from leading manufacturers such as Volkswagen may attain the level of today’s combustion models in terms of costs and profit margins by 2025.
  • In terms of the software platform and ecosystem, Volkswagen is currently still behind Tesla – however, Volkswagen is in pole position among the other established car manufacturers.

“The analysis of the ID.3 shows that Volkswagen has developed a pure electric platform which is cutting-edge. This enables the group to offer attractive electric vehicles (BEVs) across the entire product range, and to achieve positive earnings (EBIT),” UBS says. On this basis, UBS expects that Volkswagen will be a joint world market leader for pure electric vehicles as early as 2022 – with the potential to win market share.

Archive
When it comes to battery cell costs, the Volkswagen ID.3 is among the top 3 worldwide.

Volkswagen Group is investing a total of €35 billion in expanding electric mobility by 2025. The Group brands delivered 231,600 electric vehicles in 2020 – more than three times the figure achieved in 2019. By 2030, the Group will bring around 70 purely electric models to the market, of which around 20 are already in progress.

The technical and economic backbone of the electric offensive is the modular electric drive matrix (MEB). The vehicle architecture designed especially for the electric drive systems offers long range, plenty of interior space, and fantastic performance. The Volkswagen brand brought the compact ID.3 to the market as the first MEB-based electric car. Then followed the first purely electric SUV from the brand, in the form of the ID.4. Other members of the ID. family are scheduled for release.

From summer, Volkswagen will offer owners of ID. vehicles an over-the-air software update every 3 months. As well as optimising software performance, these updates may also contain new functions and customisation options.

More on the subject

Volkswagen ID.3

The ID. Family will be launched with
regular “Over-the-Air“ updates in 2021

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