It seems that Audi will soon be setting a sharp target for a complete switch to electrically powered cars. The end of the combustion engine is approaching.
Audi wants to have the combustion engine completely cut out of its range in ten to fifteen years. That reports the German WirtschaftsWoche. It appears that this plan has been leaked through someone within Audi. The medium reports that Audi itself will soon announce more concrete plans. It does so in an interview with Audi CEO Markus Duesmann published today.
The implications for this plan for the sister brands of Audi remains to be seen of course. Audi is regarded as the R&D leader of the Volkswagen Group. Audi may therefore kick off with the phasing out of combustion engines and the full switch to electric drive. Perhaps the other VW brands will follow a little later. In any case, Duesmann does not seem to be concerned about a transition to alternative propulsion financially. In that interview, the CEO emphasizes that protecting the environment can go hand in hand with ‘economic success’.
In the coming years, there will be a lot of news in the electrical field from Audi’s nursery. Not only expansion of the current MEB-based range, but also next-generation electric cars. Ingolstadt is working on this under the title ‘Artemis’. In the first instance, this should lead to a flagship with the latest technology on board in the field of electric and autonomous driving.
If it was indeed the case in the early 1930s that Audi stopped combustion engines, then that is actually not that surprising. After all, various countries want to restrict the sale of new cars with a fuel engine around that time. Cars that combine a fuel engine with electric drive are reportedly given a little longer, until roughly 2035-2040.