Audi will be an electric brand from 2026

Audi has announced that all of its new models will be pure-electric from 2026, and that it will cease production of combustion engines from 2033, three years after the UK sales ban comes into force. Its ‘Vorsprung 2030’ plan will focus the German luxury manufacturer’s future towards its goal of becoming a ‘sustainable, social and technological leader by 2030’.

The board of management has spent the past several months developing the new strategy, to ‘continue living up to Audi’s “Vorsprung durch Technik” slogan’ and says having a firm date for the manufacturer’s transition to e-mobility will allow it to tackle the transformation ahead.

Audi’s chief strategist, Silja Pieh, and her global team have spent months analysing more than 600 global mobility trends, according to Audi, which helped form its future strategy. The brand expects sales to shift first from combustion vehicles to electric models, and then later to autonomous technology, software and services. Future Audi EVs will be more strongly differentiated from those of rival brands ‘through quality and design’ along with added value for customers. This will lead to Audi being in “closer and more frequent contact with their customers in the future, with new digital and physical offerings,” according to John Newman, head of digitalisation.

Audi isn’t alone, Jaguar’s ‘Reimagine’ strategy plans for the brand to be electric-only from 2025, while Mercedes-Benz has also revealed it will be all-electric from 2030 ‘where market conditions allow’.