--- title: "Volkswagen CEO Says It Will Soon Overtake Tesla in Electric Car Sales" description: "Look out, Tesla — Volkswagen may soon be the new sheriff in EV sales town." date: "2022-05-25" modified: "2022-05-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/vw-overtaking-tesla" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "electric vehicles" - "tesla" - "the digest" - "volkswagen" --- # Volkswagen CEO Says It Will Soon Overtake Tesla in Electric Car Sales ![]() *\Image: Sebastian Kahnert/picture alliance via Getty Images\* ## Gold Star Look out, Tesla — Volkswagen may soon be the new sheriff in town when it comes to EV sales. During [an interview with *CNBC*]() at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said that as soon as the company clears up those pesky global supply chain issues, it will become the biggest EV maker in the world, leaving Tesla behind within the next three years. Although he conceded that "Tesla currently is in the lead when it comes to EVs," VW is "still aiming at keeping up and probably overtaking by 2025 when it comes to sales," Deiss claimed. It's a big claim — Tesla has a massive head start — but given the company's recent advancements, it's not out of the question. ## Rebound While he doesn't expect the automotive supply chain to completely rebound by year's end — the global semiconductor shortage is still [crushing ]()[the]()[ car industry]() — Diess is seeing dollar signs. "I would say that we would see an alleviation of this situation towards mid-year and second half we should be in better shape," the Volkswagen CEO told *CNBC*, "if the situation is not getting any worse, which I don’t think so." ## Davos Dreams Diess talks a big talk, but VW has indeed turned out to be a serious competitor to Tesla, [taking in ten percent]() of 2021 all-electric car sales worldwide, the third highest after Chinese vehicle sales leader SAIC Motor. Tesla came in at number one, with a considerable 21 percent market share. In other words, in the Western market, VW is Tesla's biggest competitor when it comes to EVs, so it's not impossible for it to overtake Elon Musk's car venture. VW has its work cut out, though: Tesla sold [nearly a million EVs]() in 2021 while VW sold just [453,000](), meaning that it has a long way to go over the next two-and-a-half years. **READ MORE:** [Volkswagen chief says German car giant will overtake Tesla on electric vehicle sales by 2025]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Tesla Storing Thousands of Employees At "An Old Military Camp" in China]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()