In recent weeks, several news have been arriving from car manufacturers who have announced a date to stop the marketing of their petrol and diesel vehicles. On the front Audi interesting news arrives in this direction. Although there was no announcement of the farewell to internal combustion cars, the rest of the Volkswagen Group does not intend to make any announcements to that effect, the CEO of Audi Markus Duesmann he however pointed out that the House of the 4 rings has the development of internal combustion engines has ceased.
This important statement is contained within an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. This decision essentially derives from the particularly stringent limits on emissions of the futuro standard Euro 7.
We will no longer develop a new combustion engine, but will adapt existing ones to the new emissions guidelines. Plans for the Euro 7 standard are technically a great challenge with at the same time little benefit for the environment. Standard that places heavy restrictions on internal combustion engines.
Audi will continue to produce endothermic engines for the years to come, which will be offered above all in countries where electrification is still a very distant reality. However, it will not develop a new generation of powertrains. The future is electric, as indeed the strategy of the Volkswagen Group wants. The road has therefore already been drawn. In the next 5 years, Audi plans to launch 20 electric models on the market. The next to arrive will be the Q4 e-tron we have talked about several times.
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At the end of 2024, provided there are no delays, will be launched the new electric fruit of the work of Artemis. Vehicle that will debut the new unified cell unveiled by the Volkswagen Group during Power Day.
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Toyota thinks differently. We have already read the statements of his number one that he has defined the “overvalued” electric. Apparently, this position will soon be exposed by Robert Wimmer, director of energy and environmental research at Toyota Motor North America, before the US Senate committee. Some passages of his speech have, in fact, leaked and the press published him.
The executive of the Japanese automaker appears to be expressing his concerns about rival automakers’ plans to phase out gasoline vehicles, emphasizing the many obstacles that will have to be overcome.
If we are to make significant progress in electrification, enormous challenges will need to be overcome, including charging infrastructure, battery availability, consumer acceptance and affordability of vehicles.
In addition, Wimmer should point out that in the face of ambitious manufacturers’ goals, electric vehicles accounted for just 2% of sales in America in 2020. The executive will add that it took Toyota 20 years to sell 4 million hybrids in America. Not that the Japanese manufacturer doesn’t work on electric, two battery-powered models will be launched in America next year, but the priority always remains the hybrid.
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