Audi promises to launch its last gas-powered car in 2026.
Despite slowing sales of electric vehicles, Audi is sticking to its plan to launch its final model with an internal combustion engine in 2026, CEO Gernot Dellner said at the company's 2023 earnings announcement.
The final model will be produced until 2033, after which Audi will become a fully electric car brand. However, that date has not been confirmed; Döllner said Audi has some flexibility in case market conditions change, according to Automotive News (subscription required).
"We are fully committed to electric mobility," he said. But if there are waves or fluctuations in the transition, we can accommodate that."
The plan was first announced in 2021 by former CEO Markus Duesmann, whom Döllner succeeded last year. At the time, other automakers, such as Mercedes-Benz, announced similar plans and now intend to offer vehicles with internal combustion engines over the next decade.
Dellner on Tuesday also confirmed plans to launch more than 20 new or improved models by the end of 2025. Also on the horizon are the 2025 A3, the new 2025 A6 E-Tron, and the redesigned A5 and Q5, which should appear as 2025 models.
The new A5 and Q5 will be mounted on a new platform for internal combustion engine vehicles called PPC (Premium Platform Combustion). This will be paired with the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) that underpins the Q6 E-Tron and Porsche Macan, which will debut in the new A5 and Q5 later this year.
