Audi's move to become an all-EV brand excludes China

BERLIN -- Audi will phase out production of combustion engines by early next decade except in China, as the company accelerates its transition to becoming an EV-only automaker, CEO Markus Duesmann said.

Starting in 2026, Audi will only launch new all-electric models on the global market, the automaker said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Audi is ready to make its decisive and powerful move into the electric age," Duesmann said in the statement.

The automaker will gradually phase out the production of internal combustion engines until 2033. "The exact timing of the combustion engine's discontinuation at Audi will ultimately be decided by customers and legislation," Audi said.

"The company expects to see continued demand in China beyond 2033, which is why there could be a supply of vehicles there with combustion engines manufactured locally," the statement added.

Audi plans to significantly expand its range of full-electric models and by 2025 aims to have more than 20 full-electric models in its lineup.

"With the new e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron, and Q4 Sportback e-tron models, Audi is already launching more electric cars than models with combustion engines this year," it said.

Audi did not provide further details on how its product range will evolve. It also did not mention the combustion engine phaseout timing in North America.

German press reports said the last internal combustion engine model built by Audi will likely be the Q8, which will launch in 2026 alongside an electric variant, the Q8 e-tron.

The A3 and A4 will not have combustion-engine successors but will be replaced by the battery-powered A3 e-tron and A4 e-tron and the A5 and A6 models will follow a similar timetable, the reports said.

Audi said it plans to improve existing generations of combustion engine cars to achieve greater fuel efficiency.

"Audi's last internal combustion engine will be the best we have ever built," Duesmann said. "I don't believe in the success of bans. I believe in the success of technology and innovation."

Duesmann's comment regarding bans could be seen as a reference to the Euro 7 tailpipe pollution standards, whose initial guideline appeared to make it impossible for the ICE to survive.

Gartner analyst Pedro Pacheco told Automotive News Europe that Audi's statements on the shift to electrification echoes similar public commitments already made by other established car brands, especially from the premium market.

"Pressure is obviously greater for premium brands as traditionally they offered models with higher CO2 emissions and also because of the looming threat of Tesla," he said via email. "These points, along with the stringent future emission regulations being put in place in markets like China and Europe, means that Audi's statements are not surprising."

Pacheco said the pace of electrification would vary greatly according to the market.

"The great test to the resolve of each manufacturer towards full electrification will be when they will have to offer a fully electric model range in a market where electrification hasn't yet reached a major market share," he said.

Audi's shift to electric-only goes further than its rival German luxury brands, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which plan a more cautious switch to full electrification.

Mercedes said in March it would accelerate its shift to electric cars but provided no details of how fast its car lineup will go electric. BMW says it expects half of its sales to be full-electric models by 2030.