In good Company, Episode 1
2026 / 02 / 18

As DeepDrive enters a critical new phase, one question is front and center: are we ready for series production?

In our new series IN GOOD COMPANY, we explore that question together with the people who’ve scaled before. In each episode, we speak to one of our senior experts about the challenges of industrialisation, what Tier 1 readiness really demands, and how DeepDrive is approaching it differently.

We kick things off with Peter Hochholdinger, former Head of Production at Audi, Tesla, and Lucid Motors. Peter joined DeepDrive last year as a Senior Expert to support us in a decisive moment: the transition from engineering excellence to production execution. After more than two decades in the automotive industry – from building high-volume platforms at Audi, to scaling Model 3 at Tesla, to launching the first greenfield EV plant in the U.S. at Lucid – Peter brings a rare combination of depth and clarity to the question of what readiness really looks like.

And more importantly: he sees it here.

When Peter first engaged with DeepDrive, it wasn’t just the product that convinced him. It was the mindset behind it. While many young tech companies optimise for lab performance or single prototypes, DeepDrive made a different bet. Every key engineering decision had already been made with manufacturability in mind. We didn’t build a demo. We built a motor designed to scale – technically, economically, and operationally.

„From day one,“ Peter says, „this wasn’t a prototype built for a tech show. This was built for the 100,000th unit.“

And that makes all the difference.

The foundation was already there: audited processes, a manufacturing team with the right instincts, and a culture of openness and speed. As Peter puts it, many of our team members bring OEM experience – but none are stuck in old ways of thinking. It’s that balance between industry know-how and a young company’s adaptability that gives DeepDrive its edge.

Peter’s role isn’t to „fix“ things. It’s to build with us. To focus the right decisions at the right time. To help us scale not just faster, but smarter: from supplier selection to system architecture, from greenfield planning to long-term process optimisation. Because readiness isn’t just about production tools. It’s about clarity. About knowing what comes next and preparing for it now.

We spoke with Peter about what it takes to scale from the inside out: building smart logistics, finding the right manufacturing partners, integrating modern MES systems, and designing our supply chain around resilience, not just cost. We also discussed the advantages of starting on a greenfield: the ability to reduce legacy complexity, build processes around the product (not the other way around), and implement data-driven systems from day one.

These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re underway.

This is what readiness looks like. Not a future ambition, but a present foundation. Not a promise, but a plan in execution.
And Peter isn’t the only one supporting us. He is part of a growing group of deeply experienced experts who’ve scaled industrial systems at the highest level – and who are now doing it again, with us. Alongside Peter Mertens (former CTO of Audi and Volvo), Gerd Schuster (former head of research at BMW), Hans-Jörg Feigel (former head of strategy and future solutions at Continental), we’ve recently welcomed:
Jörg Grotendorst, former SVP Corporate R&D of Magna, CEO of Rheinmetall Automotive, EVP of ZF E-Mobility, and founder of Continental’s E-Drive BU
Markus Buergin, Partner at Bain & Company and expert in global supplier scaling and organisational strategy
This isn’t about name-dropping. It’s about putting the right minds around the table – so we can build not just boldly, but wisely.

IN GOOD COMPANY is about that belief: that experience matters, and that now is the time to put it to work. Over the next few days, we’ll release more insights from our interview with Peter. We’ll talk about scale, process, systems, and risk—and how we’re preparing DeepDrive to deliver.

Not just once.
But at scale.

Stay tuned.