Audi announced it will stop developing internal combustion engines (ICE) and will only producing electric vehicles within 10 to 15 years.
Audi’s transformation is to cooperate with Volkswagen’s group decision on electrification. On the annual "VW Power Day", Volkswagen announced the sales of its electric vehicles in 2021 needed to account for 6% to 8% of total passenger cars, which means the German group need to deliver 600,000 to 800,000 EVs this year.
Audi CEO Markus Duesmann admits the decision to stop ICE development was due to the EU's new carbon emission tax policies and environmental protection regulations.
"More than 90 percent of the cars we currently sell are using ICEs, but the future is electric,” Duesmann said. “We will manage the transition until our customers have decided to phase out the ICE.”
Duesmann is not the only one has made the final judgment on ICEs. Volkswagen CEO Ralf Brandstätter soon confirmed that the development of new Volkswagen ICEs will be halted as well, and current powertrains will only be upgraded to meet the stricter Euro 7 emission standards.
The Volkswagen Group is about to become full electrified. In addition to Audi, Porsche cancelled diesel models a few years ago, and strengthened the cooperation with the Croatian EV manufacture Rimac since then. Bentley on the other hand, is about to take a more radical step. By 2030, it will eliminate all the ICE models from the lineup, including plug-in hybrids.