Surprise! Volkswagen cancels development of new combustion engines

Wednesday, 24 March 2021

To nobody’s surprise, Volkswagen has followed Audi in stopping the development of all upcoming combustion engines.

CEO Ralf Brandstaetter confirmed the news to Automobilwoche, saying that, like Audi, it would refocus its efforts in updating the existing line-up of engines to meet Euro 7 emissions before transitioning to electric power.

“At the moment, I don't expect a completely new engine family to be launched again,' Brandstaetter said. 'We still need [the current engines] for a certain time, and they have to be as efficient as possible.'

Volkswagen has plans to increase its sales of fully electric vehicles to 70 per cent in Europe by 2030, compared with a previous target of 35 per cent. It will use the money earned from combustion sales to finance the electric push, Brandstaetter said.

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Models soldiering on with combustion power include the Golf, T-Roc and Tiguan. Expect more hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants to come as we get closer to next decade.

Brandsaetter's comments come a week or so after Audi’s boss, Markus Duesmann, made a similar statement.

Interestingly, Germanic rival BMW isn't following suit. According to CNBC's Phil LeBeau, BMW CEO, Oliver Zipsem says his company “has no plans to stop developing internal combustion engines”. He added that the decision came 'because demand for ICE vehicles will remain robust for many years to come.'

Despite this, BMW’s latest company targets include a goal for BMW commits to ICE as rivals go electric

* Quick Charge 20/03: this week in EV news

* Volkswagen confirms plug-in hybrid Golf, Tiguan and T-Roc coming