Volkswagen is the latest carmaker to step up its game in the race to keep pace with industry and technology leader Tesla (TSLA) - Get Report in the electric car market.

According to a company executive speaking in Shanghai, Volkswagen plans to introduce four affordable, all-electric cars over the next few years, while its Audi brand plans a luxury battery-operated crossover for 2019, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

The news agency on Tuesday quoted VW electric-car project chief Christian Senger saying the German company has made "huge progress" cutting costs for the vehicles.

He said the new cars will first be available in China and will include a sedan, a mid-sized SUV, a hatchback, and a crossover according to the Bloomberg report.

"Offering our electric cars for prices similar to combustion engine vehicles really is a game changer," Senger said. "We're using the need to step from the combustion engine to electric cars to reinvent VW brand," he said.

Senger previously helped develop the electric i3 car at rival German manufacturer BMW.

In another threat to Tesla brewing in Germany, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the company could face a strike over wages at its plant there from the nation's largest industrial union, IG Metall.

In November 2016 Tesla bought Grohmann Engineering, the Prum, Germany-based engineering company now known as Tesla Grohmann Automation, to help it accelerate its growth rate.

Several critical elements of Tesla's automated manufacturing systems will be designed and produced in Prum in a bid to make the company's factories the most advanced in the world.

The Journal quoted a Tesla statement saying, "We continue to work directly with Tesla Grohmann employees and are prepared in the event there is an action initiated by the union. We don't anticipate any impact on the Model 3 timeline."

Tesla shares fell 0.4% on Tuesday, to $300.25.