Audi Will Reportedly Stop Developing Internal Combustion Engines

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

The age of the internal combustion engine appears to be coming to an end. As countries place strict emissions regulations into place and the automotive industry moves toward electric vehicles, internal combustion engines find themselves without in a difficult position. Audi became the first automaker to really confront the truth recently when it stated that it would stop developing internal combustion engines. German publication Automobilwoche reported the news after speaking with Audi CEO Markus Duesmann. 


Audi Going All-In On EVs


According to Audi, things with the automotive industry are at a turning point and it believes that it will be spending its full attention and money on electric powertrains moving forward. It's also Audi's reaction to countries that have started to place bans on vehicles with internal combustion engines and place strict emissions regulations in place. One of the more stringent ones is the Euro 7, which will go into effect in 2025 and impacts the entirety of the European Union.


"The EU plans for an even stricter Euro 7 emissions standard are a huge technical challenge and at the same time have little benefit for the environment. That extremely restricts the combustion engine," Duesmann told the outlet. "We will no longer develop a new internal combustion engine, but will adapt our existing internal combustion engines to new emission guidelines."


This news doesn't mean that Audi will be pulling its gasoline-powered engines from vehicles immediately. It probably won't even pull engines from its cars within the decade. Instead, this news means that Audi won't be coming out with any all-new engines. Existing gasoline engines will still be worked on and updated to be more efficient and powerful.


What's In Audi's Future?


The announcement isn't all that surprising. If countries are going to put insane emissions regulations into place, automakers don't really have a choice other than to ditch internal combustion engines and move toward electrified powertrains. We're sure Audi will come out with some limited-edition models to celebrate internal combustion engines, but this is clearly the beginning of the end for the automaker's high-performance vehicles.


As part of Volkswagen's overall plans to shift toward more electrified vehicles, Audi plans to come out with 20 EVs in the next five years. The German luxury brand already has two all-electric cars on sale with the E-Tron crossover and the E-Tron GT sedan. The other electric vehicles are still shrouded in mystery, though we expect a full-size electric sedan, an electric version of the recently introduced Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, and a sporty RS model.


While other automakers haven't made similar statements yet, it's only a matter of time until the entire industry moves toward putting the internal combustion engine in the past.

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods