Volkswagen (VW) CEO Herbert Diess believes that Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle developer Waymo is at least a few years ahead of VW, according to a November 18th, 2018 Reuters report.
“We have to admit that Waymo, the Google business, is ahead of us, arguably by one or two years,” said Diess, in an interview with German publication Welt am Sonntag, according to Reuters.
“But we are determined to catch up. The game is not yet lost.”
Diess’s remarks exemplify the renewed push that VW has lately undertaken to publicize its electric vehicle and self-driving aspirations, as well as to keep consumers up-to-date with the automotive giant’s future plans.
The company recently stated that it plans to compete with Tesla in the electric vehicle (EV) market by 2020.
Volkswagen also plans on spending $50 billion USD (roughly $65.85 billion CAD) to develop its EV and autonomous vehicles, according to Reuters.
The makers of the iconic VW beetle are going to have a tough race if they want to catch up to Waymo.
The Alphabet-owned company has already driven over 10 million miles in its self-driving cars, and it recently got a permit to test its cars on California roads, according to CNET
Bloomberg previously reported that Waymo is on track to launch its self-driving Uber competitor with a secretive new name sometime before the end of the year.
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