FRANKFURT, Germany — German luxury carmaker Audi said
Tuesday it will stop manufacturing diesel and petrol cars by 2033 as part of an
industry-wide pivot towards more environmentally friendly electric cars.
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"Audi is ready to make its decisive and powerful move
into the electric age," CEO Markus Duesmann said in a statement.
Starting in 2026, Audi plans to only launch new all-electric
car models, while "gradually phasing out" production of internal
combustion engines until 2033.
However, strong demand in China could see Audi's local
partners there continue to manufacture combustion engine cars beyond 2033, he
added.
Carmakers everywhere are pouring huge sums into the shift
towards battery-powered vehicles as they tout green credentials in a world
growing more concerned about climate change.
In Europe, the transition has been sped up in part because
of tougher EU pollution regulations and the "dieselgate" emissions
cheating scandal uncovered at Audi parent Volkswagen in 2015.
Duesmann said Audi is this year already launching more new
electric models than diesel or petrol models.
By 2025, the four-ring brand aims to have more than 20
e-models in its lineup.
Duesmann also said Audi would keep working to improve its
internal combustion engines until the end to ensure greater efficiency.
"Audi's last internal combustion engine will be the
best we've ever built," he said.
Audi parent company Volkswagen announced an e-offensive
earlier this year, saying it would spend 46 billion euros ($54 billion) over
the next five years to dominate the global electric car market.
The 12-brand group has vowed to set up six battery factories
in Europe by the end of the decade as part of the push, hoping to reduce
reliance on Asian suppliers of the key component in electric cars.
Electric car pioneer Tesla meanwhile is building a
"gigafactory" near Berlin that aims to produce around 500,000
vehicles a year initially.
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