Audi confirms combustion engine models until at least 2032

The year 2035 is the deadline by which models with combustion engines will be sold in Europe. Before that date, all brands must stop selling models that are not electric, with a few exceptions. But the reality of the transition to electric mobility makes it increasingly unlikely that this will happen.

Brands have changed their strategy, and more and more of them are assuring that they will keep producing models with combustion engines until the very last moment. The most recent brand to say it will follow this strategy is Audi. Like the rest of the brands that have taken this decision, Audi will continue developing electric models, but in parallel it will launch models with combustion engines, though with varying degrees of electrification.

The Audi Q7, the last car with a combustion engine

Audi’s plans involved ending the sale of cars with combustion engines with the next generation of the Audi Q7. This is due in 2026 and was supposed to mark the end of this type of vehicle. But the reality of the market and the limited adoption of electric models make it impossible to keep this plan.

With these intentions, the Audi Q7 could have stayed on the market until 2032, but with the brand’s new change of plans, this model and others will remain active for several more years. Other brands in the Volkswagen group had already announced this delay in the transition to full electric mobility, such as Porsche, which will keep producing combustion models beyond 2030.

Electric models will continue, but they will be supported in the market by hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. This will likely be the most common option for this final stage of combustion engines. For now, 2035 remains the final year for selling cars with combustion engines, but if brands keep delaying the phase-out of these engines, it would not be surprising if the application of the regulation were postponed to give the market more time to fully adapt.

2025 launches

Although Audi has announced the dismissal of 7,500 workers in the coming months, it wants to stay optimistic thanks to the new launches planned for this year. One of the first models it will launch is the new generation of the Audi Q3, arriving this summer. A plug-in hybrid version of the Audi A5 is also expected, arriving in a few days, on March 25.

In total, this year 2025 will see 10 plug-in hybrid versions of Audi models. This may be the path that comes closest to full electrification and will undoubtedly be the most efficient way to accelerate the brand’s full electrification process.