Audi to switch to EV only from 2026, ending combustion engines by 2033



Audi is planning to only launch new fully electric vehicles on the global market from 2026, a year after introducing their final all-new model with a combustion engine (ICE).

That ICE model will provide Audi and its dealers some continuity of revenue until 2033, when the automaker finally ends the production of combustion engines. The Chinese market will however be an exception, as Audi expects to see continued demand of ICE in the world’s largest automobile market beyond 2033, and the ICEs are manufactured locally.

Audi definitely takes care of you while charging your e-tron at their lounge

Audi will continue investing all its efforts in the development of the ICE right up to its final discontinuation, which will ultimately be decided by customers and legislation.

The strategic roadmap was shared by Audi CEO Markus Duesmann at the Berlin Climate Conference. “With this roadmap, we are creating clarity necessary to make a decisive and powerful transition to the electric range. We are sending the signal that Audi is ready,” Duesmann continued. “I don’t believe in the success of bans. I believe in the success of technology and innovation.”

Watch and listen to the Audi RS6 belch a sweet soundtrack from its big combustion engine

Audi aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. Apart from the introduction of a range of EVs, the company is also partnering with energy suppliers to generate additional renewable energy. There is no point in making efficient EVs if the electricity from the grid is of unsustainable sources.

The current portfolio of fully electric Audi vehicles consists of the Audi e-tron, e-tron Sportback, the flagship e-tron GT, and the very recently unveiled Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback. The Q4 e-tron shares more in common with Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform that also forms the basis of the Volkswagen ID.4 model.

Meanwhile, the new-generation sedan line-up of Audi A6, A4 and A8 is being slated for introduction from next year underpinned by the new PPE platform.