Audi to axe ICE production in 2033

AUDI AG has locked in a 2033 deadline on its days as an internal combustion engine (ICE) manufacturer, with all new models from 2026 onwards to be fully electric.

The confirmation was made as part of Audi’s new ‘Vorsprung 2030’ strategy announcement that promises not only the phasing out of ICEs, but an increase in profitable growth and better differentiation of the brand’s product from its rivals.

Product quality, design, value and sustainability are at the forefront of Audi’s differentiation piece, executives saying the brand will optimise “every link in its value chain” and commit itself “to the expansion of renewable energy” so it will be completely carbon neutral by 2050.

According to Audi chairman of the board of management and member for product lines Markus Duesmann, Audi’s slogan of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ (progress through technology) is especially relevant today as issues such as carbon emissions and global warming can be addressed through clean technologies.

“We view ourselves as a company that guarantees the freedom and individual mobility of our customers,” he said.

“We don’t simply develop technology for its own sake. It must be consequential and effective in keeping the world moving.”

By 2025, the brand intents to have more than 20 dedicated battery-electric vehicles (BEV) on the market and make its production operations completely carbon neutral.

As EVs become the norm, executives hope to create an “extensive” and “seamless” ecosystem for zero-emissions motoring and eventually, autonomous driving.

Having partnered with various energy suppliers around the world, Audi says it is diving headfirst into developing its own charging concepts, which include public chargers powered exclusively by wind and solar power.

“We want to offer our customers a holistic electric driving experience. In addition to attractive models, we need to be able to offer widespread green electricity,” said Audi member of the board of management for technical development Oliver Hoffmann.

“We’re working hard to make carbon-neutral mobility possible. The expansion of renewable energy sources at an industrial scale is the next, logical step.”

It will not be a small-scale operation either – up to 5tWh of combined additional green electricity is expected to be generated from various solar and wind farms scattered across Europe by 2025, roughly the same as 250 wind turbines.

“The objective is to increase the share of electricity our partners generate from renewable sources in conjunction with an additional increase in the share of electric cars on the road,” an Audi spokesperson said.

In formulating the Vorsprung 2030 plan, Audi’s chief strategist Silja Pieh and her team spent months analysing more than 600 global trends in the mobility sector that could become relevant to the brand in the coming year.

“One thing our entire team finds extremely encouraging is that many employees and the board of management are already deeply committed to the issue of sustainability,” she said.

“We want to further emphasise responsible business practices in the future and rigorously adhere to them.

“The world and especially the transportation sector are rapidly evolving. We will respond to changes even more quickly and with greater flexibility in the future.”