Audi will continue to produce combustion engine vehicles for a longer period than initially anticipated, following the trend already revealed by brands such as Ford, Porsche or Mercedes-Benz.
In an interview with “Top Gear“, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner admitted that vehicles equipped with combustion engines may continue to be part of the lineup beyond 2033, the date that the Ingolstadt brand initially planned to only sell electric vehicles.
According to Döllner, Audi should present a “flexible” strategy regarding what may happen in the medium term, considering that the European Union may postpone the ban on the sale of combustion engine vehicles, initially scheduled for 2035.
The decrease in demand for electric vehicles globally is leading brands to invest in hybrid versions, and in that sense, Döllner confirmed that Audi will expand the range of plug-in hybrid versions throughout its lineup.
“All combustion models will have plug-in hybrid versions. We thought that PHEV technology would serve as a bridge to 100% electric mobility. Now we understand that the bridge has to be longer than initially planned.”
