In a press release, Audi announces that it will only launch new electric models from 2026. The firm will then no longer produce any thermal car from 2033 and is already preparing all its factories for this shift.
It’s no surprise that all new cars sold in Europe will soon be 100% electric. In any case, this is what the European Union wants, which voted in favor of banning the sale of thermal vehicles on the Old Continent from 2035. This therefore leaves manufacturers a few more years to adapt, even if most had already started working on their electrification for a longer time. This is particularly the case of Volvo or Ford, among others. But more and more brands have since followed suit.
A shift from 2026
This is particularly the case for Audi, which plans to massively electrify its range over the next few years. Indeed, and as it announces in a press release, the firm with the rings will gradually abandon the production of its internal combustion models by 2033. But the transition will take place sooner, since from 2026, the manufacturer will only market fully electric cars.
Among them, the next generation of the Audi A3, which should see the light of day in 2027. The sports versions S3 and RS 3 will also be affected. But other models are also in preparation, including a super sports car which should replace the current R8 at the end of its career. Cars inspired by the grandpshere, skypshere and urbansphere concepts may also be launched later.
Of course, it will take efficient and up-to-date production sites to produce all these new cars, which require different manufacturing methods from thermal models. But unlike some manufacturers, Audi does not want to build new factories. The Ingolstadt brand prefers to develop those that already exist, as Gerd Walker, member of the board of directors, explains.
” We prefer to invest in our existing factories so that they end up being just as efficient and flexible as the newly built production sites or the latest generation factories.“. If some brands dedicate a single site to the assembly of their electric cars, Audi wants all its factories to be able to fulfill this role. All employees will then be trained by 2025 to adapt to these new manufacturing methods.
A new factory in preparation
Today, two factories already produce electric cars, namely those of Böllinger Höfe, in Germany, and that of Brussels, where the e-tron GT and other e-trons, now called Q8 e-tron, are produced. From next year, the historic Inglostadt site will see the release of its first 100% electric model, the Q6 e-tron, while the assembly lines of Neckarsulm (Germany), San José Chiapa (United States) and Győr (Hungary) will also follow suit.
As announced by the brand, all of its factories worldwide will then manufacture at least one electric model from 2029. But if it wants to favor the use of its current sites, new ones will still be built, particularly in China. Audi and its partner FAW are currently in the process of completing a plant in Changchun. This will be completed in 2024 and will accommodate cars based on the PPE (Premium Platform Electric) platform.
This notably equips the Audi Urbansphere concept and will be used for the brand’s large models as well as those of Porsche in the future. This will notably be the case for the future Audi A6 Avant e-tron, announced by an eponymous concept unveiled at the start of the year. However, we will have to wait before knowing more about the next models which will be based on this technical basis, which is not used by the e-tron GTs and other Taycans for the moment.
In addition to the production of electric cars, the brand with the rings also wants to reduce the impact of its factories on the environment. To do this, in 2019 it created the Mission:Zero program, aimed at making all its assembly sites carbon neutral by 2025. An ambition shared with other manufacturers and in particular Ford, which wishes to achieve this objective by 2035. For this, the firm with the blue oval is updating its factories, and in particular that of Cologne, which will host the production of its future electric SUV designed in partnership with Volkswagen.
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