The head of Audi, Gernot Döllner, came to make it clear that the German car manufacturer will not change its electrification plans, despite the growing wave of skepticism surrounding the electric vehicle market.
Döllner, who took over as director of the German brand in 2023, pointed out that Audi still believes that the market for combustion models will see a sharp drop in sales from 2026 onwards.
With Döllner’s arrival at Audi, the brand has revised its strategy and announced that it will launch more than 20 new models in the coming years before becoming an electric brand from 2030 onwards.
In statements to “Auto News Europe“, Döllner revealed that Audi still plans to gradually phase out the sale of combustion engines in Europe and North America by 2033.
It is already known that in Portugal, the brand with the four rings will stop selling vehicles with combustion engines three years before the parent company, which will have a fully electric offering by 2033, two years ahead of the deadline set by the European Union.
“We will position ourselves well with a new generation of fully electric models, combustion engines, and plug-in hybrids, and we will be able to act flexibly, if necessary”, Döllner revealed.
In 2026, a significant reduction in the sales volume of combustion engines is expected, which means that it will no longer be economically viable to continue producing this type of vehicles.
“Our last combustion engines, which will be introduced in 2026, will probably only be available for sale the following year”, added the Audi chief. “If we assume a classic life cycle of seven years, we are ready for the mid-next decade”.
