Car manufacturers the world over have said many things about their powertrain strategies. Broadly, many insist that the end of pure internal combustion is nigh and, after a quick dalliance with various takes on hybridization, everything will be electric (mostly). Audi’s messaging has been broadly along those lines, saying it will only introduce new combustion-powered cars up until 2026 followed by “the gradual phasing out of production of vehicles with combustion engines by 2033.” 

At least, that was the plan. The landscape is changing. People in power today say one thing about EVs, while in a few months, a new entity at the top can do an about-face. Take the UK and its reverse ferret on the so-called “ICE Ban,” which promised to end sales of un-electrified ICE vehicles from 2030 on but caused such a stir that it had to be punted back five years. In the U.S., the Biden Administration eased its tough standards to get to a zero-emission future more gradually. And other countries may be looking to follow suit or to relax stringent deadlines.

The Volkswagen Group’s troubled EV transition

On the heels of its diesel cheating scandal, the Volkswagen Group announced its future would be all-electric. Since then, it’s been dogged by countless software delays, uneven EV demand globally and a constantly shuffling deck of executives. Can it still execute this pivot?

Meanwhile, automakers are realizing this future will be harder and more expensive than they envisioned, and that it hinges on things they’re often very bad at at. Then there’s customer demand; if the money isn’t in BEV in the main it doesn’t make sense for a business to doggedly stick to a plan that’ll ultimately close it down. While EV sales hit new records in 2023 in the U.S. and 2024 is looking strong as well, that growth is hardly global, and when it does exist it’s often on the backs of aggressive lease and financing deals. 

All of this is to say: It’s do-able, but easily the most difficult and unpredictable transformation any industry has ever undertaken. 

Audi’s plan looked good from 30,000 feet, but with the above worries in mind, as well as reports of both ICE and hybrid engines carrying on in various states, we caught up with a man who could tell us exactly what was going on: The boss. 

Speaking at the press preview of the new Audi A5, Q5 and A6 e-tron in Germany, Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board at Audi AG, had this to say: “We have a lot of debate, especially in Europe and North America regarding the speed of the transition from combustion engine to battery electric vehicle. We believe that to be able to reach decarbonization targets, electrification is the future.” 

So far, so good, but then Döllner revealed the kicker: “We have a perfect strategy to be flexible for the next 10 years.”

“Flexible” is a fun word. It’s up there with your parents saying “maybe” when your childhood self asked them for a treat or toy of some sort. It buys wiggle room, and that may well be needed. After all, Audi is about to launch several new gas-powered models, including the all-important Q5 crossover; that may be before that previously planned 2026 cutoff date, but it’s still going to stick around for a while. 

Continuing, Döllner made no bones about Audi’s future, and the variety it’ll bring to the brand. “Nobody knows how fast the transition [from ICE to BEV] will be. And with the new models coming, we will have both a very strong renewed ICE and hybrid portfolio and a new battery electric portfolio. So we can proudly say that the Audi brand is flexible.” 

Döllner went on to explain how the brand will make sure it has an EV offering across the board by 2027, and that Audi’s ICE lineup updates will be complete by the end of 2026. He continues with what could be read as a caveat though: “These new models will bring Audi to an excellent position, and we are able, as mentioned, to react flexibly to changes in the market…”

Later, during a Q&A, Döllner elaborated on the current plans AND the wiggle room. He stated that there’s an “endpoint [for ICE] defined for Europe, and that’s 2033,” which seems pretty definitive. Audi’s number of ICE cars will steadily reduce as time goes on as it lines itself up for a battery-powered future, but then the F-word appeared again. “We are flexible. We’re now bringing an all-new lineup of ICE cars, and so in two to three years… is a point when we’ll have to take the decision on if we only have this generation we’ve just started, or if we then add on. Which is good, and gives us the flexibility to react.”

It’s not like Audi isn’t taking the electric fight lying down, of course. It just debuted the Q6 and SQ6 e-tron, arguably its most important products in decades, designed to compete in the ultra-tough midsize EV crossover segment. The e-tron GT and renamed Q8 e-tron just got significant updates, and more new electric models are coming too, like the A6 e-tron sedan and its Avant wagon counterpart. Expect some electric RS models soon as well. But some hard-out date for ICE vehicles? Well, that depends.  

Here it’s noted that the European Union is reviewing its regulations on the matters of internal combustion in 2026, which could give Audi’s gas-powered offering a stay of execution for a spell longer. It’s looking like 2026 and 2027 are going to be crucial years for the people at the top of Audi’s decision-making trees. 

For now, Döllner’s line seems firm: “We believe that battery electric vehicles will be the right answer for what’s coming, and we already had that strategy.” 

That strategy, though, seems to be “flexible.”

Alex Goy is a freelance journalist based in London. He likes British sports cars, tea, and the feeling of the mild peril that only owning a British sports car can bring to your day.