It is not the first time that Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW, has made statements about Tesla. Earlier this year, Zipse raised doubts about the sustainability of the brand's growth rate and its ability to maintain its leadership in trams over the long term.
It was the response of the head of BMW to statements by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who had announced a 50% growth per year for Tesla over the next few years.
Now, during the Auto Summit 2021 conference organized by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, which was attended by Zipse, the executive director of BMW once again commented on the American manufacturer of electric vehicles.
This time, Zipse's statements seemed to aim to demarcate BMW from Tesla, not considering it as a direct rival, as Mercedes-Benz or Audi are.
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW"Where we differ is in our standard of quality and reliability. We have different aspirations for customer satisfaction."
Reinforcing the argument, Oliver Zipse said: “ Tesla is not quite part of the premium segment . They are growing strongly through price cuts. We wouldn't do that, because we have to take the distance.”
According to the latest projections, it is expected that Tesla will reach 750,000 units sold by the end of 2021 (the vast majority are Model 3 and Model Y), meeting Musk's predictions of 50% growth compared to 2020 ( where it sold nearly half a million cars).
It will be a record year for Tesla, which has broken consecutive sales records in recent quarters.
Is Oliver Zipse right not to consider Tesla as another rival to fight?