Better starting position: Ex-analyst shoots against VW: That’s why the Wolfsburg-based company currently has no chance against Tesla | message

GTMC lets Bank of America Merrill Lynch Vice President speak
Expert sees Tesla better positioned on the capital market
A lack of contaminated sites as an advantage for the Americans

Stefan Burgstaller, Vice Chairman at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, took part in a virtual meeting of VW top managers. As part of the GTMC, the Global Top Management Conference, the former Goldman Sachs analyst shared his assessment of the current situation in the automotive market and put the US electric car manufacturer Tesla in the center of his considerations. The deliberations of the professional are likely to have made long faces, especially at the VW management meeting in Wolfsburg.

Tesla shares outperform the market and the competition

As “Business Insider” reports, his appearance at the conference turned out to be difficult to settle with Volkswagen. He also referred to the developments on the capital market, where VW recently performed poorly. With a discount of more than 15 percent since the beginning of March, the Wolfsburg-based preference share has left deep red marks on investor portfolios. Tesla, on the other hand, was able to grow a whopping 177 percent in the same period – even though the stock market environment for both companies was quite comparable due to the consequences of the corona pandemic.

Tesla shares clearly outrun VW

This discrepancy in the share price development was also taken up by Burgstaller, who saw Tesla in a significantly better position in terms of raising capital due to its high stock market valuation. The fact that investors have high hopes for the US automaker and concentrate on its future prospects instead of making an investment decision based on current sales figures or production volumes may also play a role here. “The market thinks Tesla wins,” Business Insider quotes the stock market expert.

Tesla without legacy

In his estimation, Tesla not only has advantages in the capital market, but is also ahead of Volkswagen in other ways: The electric car manufacturer does not have any legacy issues with it, so it does not have to laboriously rebuild its traditional business with diesels and gasoline vehicles. Tesla had no combustion legacy, so it didn’t have to transform an old business, the Burgstaller added.

In fact, Volkswagen & Co.’s volume business is still on vehicles with traditional drives. VW models with alternative drives, on the other hand, have so far been a niche market in the sales statistics. Against this background, Burgstaller came to a sobering assessment for VW: “Tesla leads 5-0”.

Volkswagen accepts the fight

VW itself does not want to give up in the race for the future of the automotive market, however. VW CFO Frank Witter reacted to the statements made by the BoA Merrill Lynch vice-president with the words: The game now lasts 90 minutes and it has not yet ended.

In fact, Wolfsburg see themselves in a better starting position compared to the competition. There is now a very clear and promising electrical strategy. Now, with the ID.3 and ID.4, the corresponding volume models would also come onto the market, and the race to catch up is in full swing.

VW boss Herbert Diess was also confident that his company could keep up in the battle for the automotive market. Volkswagen still has the best starting position among the car manufacturers. “We have to use this lead,” Business Insider quotes the VW boss.

Finanzen.net editorial team

advertising

Image sources: Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com, hans engbers / Shutterstock.com