He added that the work done so far shows "that we can significantly mitigate one or two problems by working hard and save many cars with flexibility in production"
Diess continued
"I expect we'll be able to catch up in the 4th quarter"
Diess concluded
"We are indeed having a hard time getting delivery commitments for 2023/2024 for our needs."
Semiconductor challenges remain for future years - a competitive advantage for Tesla
Diess
"But of course we have a strong overall raw material price increase that goes through steel to many of our primary materials. And it probably won't be possible to absorb all of that."
Automakers will increase vehicle prices
Diess reveals future issues to deliver
"We'd love to serve every customer request, of course, and of course the delivery times we have right now are too long."
About demand
"We have a good order backlog - better than we've ever had."
Diess about costs and profits
"The initial investment in the small car segment is higher, yes,"
All VW Manager refer to 2025 - in 4 years its may be too late for VW to play a role in that segment
"But we are also working on an entry-level platform, with cars coming in 2025"
VWs BEVs will likely become more expensive driven by the shortages
Diess, "The low electric consumption costs, significantly lower maintenance costs, and perhaps lower insurance premiums will make electromobility more affordable than combustion mobility."
VW will not go BEV globally
Diess doesn't want to end ICE in Latin America
"I do believe that we would do well for example in Latin America - where there is a functioning nationwide supply of bioethanol for example - not to discuss a combustion engine phase-out date at all"
"Tesla has not made any money for over 15 years except with certificate trading"
To be fair Diess, understands the CO2 certificate trading correctly as a measure to shift money to the ones who can reduce CO2 most effectively
But instead of answering why VW bought them from Tesla, he argues Tesla needed it to overcome a not competitive situation
While Diess repeated in the talk show the wrong narrative Tesla not have been profitable for 15 years without certificates he also said Tesla is today highly profitable
VW CEO Diess
"Electric cars will no longer need government subsidies in a few years because by then they will usually no longer be more expensive to produce than ICE. Diesel is subsidized with €8bn in tax benefits per year which is several times more than government EV subsidies
Diess continued
"... Kerosene for aircraft is even tax-free. This distorts the market, is harmful to climate protection, and should "end as soon as possible"
Fully agree!
VW 🛳️🚢ship engines
"50% of the world's marine engines come from our Group. We could convert the engines to natural gas & then to ammonia propulsion in the next 15 years. That would fit well into the MAN Energy Solutions business model with great leverage for climate protection"