Audi has announced a change in its development strategy and a rejection of the previously announced plan to completely switch to the production of exclusively electric vehicles by 2033. The company has decided to maintain the internal combustion engine range, including hybrid and traditional petrol and diesel versions, to meet the different conditions in global markets and changing demand.
The brand's management explains the revision of the course by the need for a more flexible approach in the context of heterogeneous development of charging station infrastructure and different dynamics of growing interest in electric vehicles in the world. While sales of electric models are showing strong growth in some EU countries, demand for them remains low in other regions. These factors forced Audi to abandon the previous concept of strict division of the model range by type of power plants.
The new plans suggest that the same model can be offered in several variants - with an internal combustion engine, hybrid installation or in an all-electric version. This will allow the company to remain competitive in markets with different levels of readiness for mass adoption of electric vehicles.
According to Audi CEO Gernot Dellner, from 2024 to 2026, the company will introduce a new generation of cars with traditional and hybrid power plants. Production of models with petrol and diesel engines will continue at least until the end of the current decade. Audi will also continue to develop electric technologies, but now this direction will co-exist with upgraded versions of cars with internal combustion engines.
