During the announcement of its financial results for 2023, Audi shared another bit of information: that it plans to launch its last new model equipped with a gasoline engine in 2026. This was confirmed by company CEO Gernot Döllner.
This confirmation comes amid a slowdown in demand for electric vehicles in some parts of the world, so Audi is making clear it is sticking to its plan, first announced in 2021 by former CEO Markus Duesmann. According to that plan, the automaker's last gasoline-powered model will remain in production until 2033. After that, Audi will officially be an all-electric brand.
However, not everything is set in stone. Gernot Döllner also said that Audi has some flexibility in case market conditions change.
"We are fully committed to electric mobility, but if there are waves or fluctuations in the transition, we can react to them."
It’s no surprise Audi leaves itself the option of adjusting as needed. We've seen this elsewhere, where other automakers have slowed their shift and even planned the development of other gas-engine or hybrid models.
Gernot Döllner also confirmed this week the company's intention to launch more than 20 entirely new or updated models by the end of 2025. This includes the new 2025 Q6 e-tron presented just this week.
A new A3 and A6 e-tron, as well as redesigned versions of the A5 and Q5, are expected in 2025. In the latter two cases, the models will be based on a new platform for vehicles equipped with combustion engines, the PPC (Premium Platform Combustion), as opposed to the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) structure, which accommodates battery-powered models such as the Q6 e-tron and the electric Porsche Macan, for example.
So there's a lot to watch out for from Audi over the next two years.