Audi Chief: The More Expensive the Car, the Stronger the Demand for Combustion Engines

Audi is changing the direction of its electric transition. The company once said it would become an entirely electric brand by 2032, but that plan is no longer current. Like many other manufacturers, Audi is taking a more cautious approach to the pace of electrification and does not plan to quickly abandon combustion engines.

The shift applies particularly to V6 and V8 engines, which Audi believes still have a future in Ingolstadt. In an interview with Bloomberg, CEO Gernot Döllner pointed to a clear link between a car’s price and the type of powertrain customers prefer.

“Enthusiasts still love the combustion engine more in the higher segment. The lower the segment, the greater the acceptance of battery-electric cars,” Döllner said. That view could leave room in Audi’s range for the exotic Nuvolari with a large V8 engine.

At the other end of the lineup, Audi sees stronger acceptance of electric cars in lower market segments. The company plans to use that trend by reviving the A2. The new model is expected to fill, indirectly, the gap left by the city-focused A1 and the Q2 crossover, whose production has ended. This time, the A2 name will be paired exclusively with electric power.

Audi’s electrification would therefore advance from the bottom of the range upward, while combustion engines could remain much longer in its most expensive cars. For V6 and V8 engines, retirement has not yet arrived.

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Enthusiasts still love the combustion engine more in the higher segment. The lower the segment, the greater the acceptance of battery-electric cars.