Audi has confirmed that it will finally join the all-electric revolution as its CEO has said that the company will no longer develop internal combustion engines.
Audi CEO Markus Duesmann justified the decision with reference to the EU’s plans for a stricter Euro 7 emissions standard.
“We will no longer develop a new combustion engine but will adapt our existing combustion engines to new emission guidelines.” The plans for the Euro 7 standard are “technically a huge challenge with at the same time little benefit for the environment. This places extreme restrictions on the internal combustion engine,” Duesmann said.
The CEO has not specified when Audi will end its ICE era. However, this is an interesting U-turn from the comments, that we reported in July, where Duesmann publicly said that it did not foresee an all-electric future for Audi.
The company has said that even though it will not develop any more new petrol and diesel engines, it will be selling ICE for many years to come as there are still regions of the world where energy supply and charging infrastructure continue to be undeveloped.
As we reported, even though Audi might not be there yet, the company is already thinking about its electric future. Ingolstadt has revealed plans for a high-tech project called Artemis, which will be developing a “highly efficient electric car” that could be launched as early as 2024.
We might have to wait few years for this intriguing project to come to fruition but in the meantime, Audi has already unveiled the incredibly powerful all-electric sedan e-tron GT and the highly-awaited electric Q4 e-tron.
The move by Audi should not come as surprise as the brand is part of the Volkswagen Group. In fact, we reported that VW has unveiled its roadmap towards its all-electric future at its first Power Day. Volkswagen is carefully planning its move to become the driving force in the EV market and Audi its part of this strategy.