According to Business Insider, UBS experts come to this conclusion after studying the design and characteristics of seven brands of battery cells used in their electric vehicles by Tesla, Volkswagen, General Motors, Toyota and BMW. The uniqueness of Tesla’s component base should not be overestimated, as the study authors argue. Battery cells are supplied by CATL, LG Chem and Panasonic, and they are also suppliers of competing electric vehicle manufacturers. Tesla’s advantage is not so great that one of its rivals cannot block it.

The role of the main “catch-up” UBS puts the automobile concern Volkswagen, which over the next five years is going to spend 33 billion euros on the development of the production of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. According to experts, the German concern has chosen the correct strategy of switching to electric traction of the entire model range, since, in light of the tightening of environmental requirements, manufacturers of cars with internal combustion engines will find themselves in a less advantageous position. According to forecasts by Allied Market Research, by 2027 the market capacity of traction batteries for electric vehicles will triple to $ 129.3 billion.

Tesla has an advantage in improving the efficiency of the power plant of electric vehicles, but in the matter of reducing the cost of traction batteries, it is still highly dependent on partners, so the head start is not so great. In a few years, Volkswagen will be able, if not to squeeze Tesla, then at least catch up with it in the electric car market.