Audi Boss believes that electric cars are the ‘better technology’

Audi was planning to leave the combustion engines in 2032 and only to sell only electric vehicles worldwide. However, the ambitious goal that was announced only three years ago has already been withdrawn. The company now says it will remain flexible and keep selling combustion motor cars for “another seven, eight, maybe 10 years,” said a recent statement by CEO Gernot Döllner.

Despite this shift, Döllner is convinced that EVs are the only feasible path ahead. He supports the sales ban of the European Union on new combustion cars from 2035 and rejected the calls to release the ban as “counterproductive” in an interview with the German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche (Subscription required). He argued that the constant back and forth between car manufacturers and supervisors ‘changes’ customers.

In contrast to BMW and Mercedes, which are openly against the ban of 2035, Audi takes a different attitude. Döllner insists that EVs are the only real solution to reduce CO₂ emissions in the coming years:

‘I don’t know any better technology than the electric car for making progress in reducing CO₂ emissions in transport in the coming years. But even apart from climate protection, the electric car is simply the better technology. ‘

President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission met leading car -executives at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich last Friday to discuss the Deadline of 2035. While the target remains unchanged, the planned assessment of the legislation from 2026 to this year has been moved, so there is room for possible changes.

Yet it is difficult to imagine that pure petrol cars are allowed after 2035. A more likely outcome is approval for plug-in hybrids and range-expanding EVs, where the combustion engine works exclusively as a generator instead of controlling the wheels. The BMW i3 used it more than ten years ago, and although largely ignored in recent years, the technology makes a comeback.

Volkswagen Group, the parent company of Audi, is already developing a new platform that supports ice use as a generator. The Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) will be available in eight variations in multiple segments, with reports that suggest that Audi could lead his rollout in Europe with an electric A4 in a few years.

So why did Audi withdraw from its fully electrical obligation? Although the global demand for EVs continues to grow, the four rings have made an effort. Deliveries fell 7.8 percent last year to 164,480 units. Cars without a combustion engine only had a share of 9.7 percent in the total number of deliveries last year, so there is still a long way to go until Audi IJs can let go. Although a single weak year was probably not the decisive factor, it evokes doubts compared to 2022, when Audi first announced his plan to become fully electric.

As part of the VW empire, Audi has the flexibility to offer gas, plug-in hybrid and electric models. For now, combustion engines remain the backbone of the line -up, enjoying a much higher popularity and larger profit margins than electric cars. With the ice vehicles it sells today, it can finance the EVs of tomorrow.