- Audi is reevaluating its plan to phase out gas engines by 2026 due to slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles
- Audi announced a nearly 12% sales decline in 2024 and said it plans to cut 7,500 jobs by 2029.
- Audi CEO Gernot Dollner has hinted at increasing production in North America
Audi CEO Gernot Dollner said the company is reevaluating its plan. It was first announced in 2021to launch its final model equipped with a gas engine in 2026.
Dolner made the statement on Tuesday during Audi annual general meetingWhere it was also announced that Audi will be there as well 7,500 jobs abolished By 2029, most of them will be in Germany.
He said: “We will manage the production of our latest combustion engine vehicles based on various developments in global markets.”
Under the original plan, Audi intended to launch electric cars only after 2026 and Stop selling gas powered models By 2033 in most markets. However, Dollner said those dates need to be reevaluated due to… Slower than expected adoption of electric vehicles. The automaker announced last year that it would be Closing its factory In Brussels, where the Q8 E-Tron is manufactured, due to slow sales of the mid-size electric SUV.
Gernot Dollner
Other automakers, such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, also planned to phase out gas engines this decade but now intend to introduce them in the next decade.
Even with a limited number of electric vehicles in its lineup, Audi’s sales suffered greatly In 2024. The brand’s global sales fell by 11.8%, ending the year at 1,671,218 units, while its operating profits fell by 38%, closing the year at €3.9 billion (about $4.3 billion).
Audi is planning to shake things up by launching more than 20 new or updated models During the next two years, including new generations From A6 and Third quarter in 2025Plus a plug-in hybrid option for the A5.
2026 Audi A6 Avant (European specifications)
Dollner on Tuesday also hinted at increased production in North America, without mentioning it directly The Trump administration’s tariff threats.
“We are also currently evaluating different scenarios for additional localization in North America – among other things, to be closer to the needs of local customers and to make ourselves more resilient to global economic uncertainties,” he said.
Audi currently has it Factory in MexicoWhere he builds the Q5. The automaker could also share capacity at Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, or perhaps even at the new plant VW is building near Columbia, South Carolina.
