Audi Confirms Plans to Go All-Electric By 2026

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Automakers are starting to get serious about moving to electrified powertrains. Quite a few automakers have announced plans to ditch gasoline- and diesel-powered cars in the near future as they're aiming to become carbon neutral and meet strict emissions regulations. Audi has joined the party, recently announcing that it too will ditch gasoline and diesel engines by 2026.

Say Goodbye To Gas-Powered Audis

The latest announcement comes after Audi stated that it was done developing new internal combustion engines earlier in March. Audi's latest step to announce that it will become an all-electric brand in the future seems like a natural step. It's also a reaction to countries and cities banning the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines and tightening emissions regulations.

Audi CEO Markus Duesmann announced that the German luxury brand will transition to being an all-electric automaker by 2026. Starting then, Audi will only release new models that are purely electric. For consumers that aren't ready to make the switch to an EV yet, there's some good news. The automaker will continue to manufacture vehicles with internal combustion engines until 2033. Gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, though, will slowly be phased out of production until 2033. So, you'd better act fast if you'd like a newer Audi.

The goal for Audi is to become carbon neutral by 2050. To reach that goal, the automaker will have to make drastic changes. Moving to be an all-electric brand is pretty drastic. While Audi doesn't have many electric vehicles on sale at the moment, that's going to change, as the automaker plans to have 20 electric models on sale by 2025.

Audi Leads The Way

Automotive News Europe claims that the last internal combustion engine model will most likely be the redesigned Q8 that's coming out in 2026. That vehicle will also be joined by an electric version called the Q8 e-tron.

With Volkswagen pushing aggressively for more electric vehicles across all of its brands, we're not surprised to hear about Audi's announcement. Currently, Audi has more EVs on sale than Volkswagen. Consumers can choose from the e-tron, e-tron Sportback, e-tron GT, RS e-tron GT, Q4 e-tron, and Q4 e-tron Sportback.

The announcement puts Audi well ahead of its main rivals — Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Mercedes has announced that it wants to speed up the development of its EVs, but hasn't provided an official timeline for when that will happen. BMW claims that half of its sales will come from all-electric models by 2030, but has stated that it has no plans to get rid of its internal combustion engines.

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