Audi says its last internal combustion engine will be “the best we’ve ever built.”
It’s obviously no secret nearly every automaker is expanding its EV lineup over the next few years. Some players intend to hang onto internal combustion for quite awhile longer, but Audi is officially cutting ties with ICE engines within the next 12 years. Before that, though, the company does plan one final, newly developed powerplant that will start production in the next four years.
“Audi’s last internal combustion engine will be the best we’ve ever built,” says CEO Markus Duesmann. As such, there will still be one generation before the hard transition to EV models, but the automaker set a ticking clock Wednesday. Audi pointed out that it already launched more new models with electric drivetrains — the e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron — than vehicles with combustion engines so far this year.
Despite the switch, we’ll continue to see tweaks and improvements up until the brand finally drops the last internal combustion engine. Some governments around the globe are pushing for bans on gas and diesel engines within that timeframe, though Audi’s own 2033 time frame may be subject to shift. “The company expects to see continued demand in China beyond 2033, which is why there could be a supply of vehicles there with combustion engines manufactured locally.”
We’ll have to keep an eye on the politics of the situation and whether Audi sticks to that time table in terms of building out its EV lineup. Nevertheless, it seems at this moment that some of the brand’s most iconic engines will forever be consigned to the history books. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
