BMWs next electric cars will have batteries with zero (!) rare minerals, they are on the way to produce cars with renewable energy and they can recycle 96% of their batteries, just not the thermoplastic. There is much more they are doing. Where they forced to adapt? Yes, they weren't at the forefront. But they are taking huge leaps forward.
All that while providing, well, the quality of a german car. I drove a model 3 and a BMW and there is a massive difference in quality.
If there is a German car maker lagging behind I think it would be Daimler/Mercedes Benz. VW is somewhere in the middle I guess.
I would say VW AG is leading the charge among the germans, especially considering the volume of cars the group sells as a whole. The ID.4, the Buzz, the Audi E-tron lineup and the Porsche Taycan, just to start. VW group also has a long history of racing hybrid vehicles, and I'm looking forward to seeing more and more racing classes move to hybrids. But i digress.
Agreed that MB is the laggard and that Tesla quality is poor.
I think this point is key. Musk was fast out of the gate and did well out of it. Existing car companies are slower to adopt innovation, but they've been doing it for 100 years at this point. Musk is a darling of the early-adopter market, but that's a small percentage of the total market. The more established car companies have huge advantages there, and Tesla's going to have to work very hard to overcome them.
All that while providing, well, the quality of a german car. I drove a model 3 and a BMW and there is a massive difference in quality.
If there is a German car maker lagging behind I think it would be Daimler/Mercedes Benz. VW is somewhere in the middle I guess.