Audi CEO Markus Duesmann indicates that his brand is no longer planning new combustion engines. The ever stricter CO2 emission requirements are the basis for this.
According to Duesmann, it no longer really pays to develop new combustion engines from scratch. That is what the Audi CEO is talking to Automobilwoche. He indicates that there are no longer any plans for completely new engines. The existing engines have to sing the song until it really is no longer possible. “We will no longer develop new combustion engines, but adapt our existing engines to the new emission directives,” said the German. The fact that Audi, as the R&D leader of the Volkswagen Group, is stopping the development of completely new engines, probably also means that the rest of the group can no longer count on a completely new generation of combustion engines.
Duesmann thinks the ever-falling ‘CO2 ceiling’ for fuel engines is a bit of a sham. “The stricter Euro 7 emissions standard is a huge challenge from a technical point of view, but at the same time it has few benefits for the environment.” According to Duesmann it is actually a shame to still be here completely ‘from scratch‘to work on a new generation of engines and it is better to shift the focus more and more to electric cars. Undoubtedly something that the EU thinks is an excellent effect.
It is not yet clear when Audi will actually deliver the very last car with a combustion engine. At the beginning of this year, it was leaked that Audi will switch to electric cars only within 10 to 15 years. The plan to immediately stop the development of completely new combustion engines is in favor of this. It will largely depend on how long the current engines can be tightened up to keep up with stricter emission requirements, whether a combination with electric propulsion is still sufficient.