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According to German media reports, Audi will stop developing gasoline or diesel engines and will completely switch to the development and production of electric cars in 10 to 15 years' time.

It is understood that the Audi brand will step up its research and development and production of electric vehicles in the future, the number of electric vehicles will increase from 3 now to 7, and Audi's pure electric models will reach 20 by 2025, and the product range of plug-in hybrids will be greatly expanded. Audi predicts that by 2025, about 1/3 of cars delivered to customers worldwide will be pure electric or hybrid models.

In response to the reasons for the electrification transformation, Audi CEO Marcus Dussman said at the annual meeting that the decision was made because of stricter environmental requirements and restrictions such as carbon taxes imposed by the European Union. For existing models using gasoline and diesel engines, they will be gradually converted to electric models in the future. Dussman said the deadline for the company to continue to produce gasoline and diesel cars will be decided by this summer.

However, Audi will stop developing gasoline or diesel engines, but that doesn't mean it will stop the iteration of internal combustion cars. Especially in China, Audi will continue to strengthen its product layout in the Chinese market. By the end of 2021, Audi will make 12 models home-made through the joint venture FAW-Volkswagen, and SAIC Audi's first product will also be available in 2022, Duthman said.

China will play a key role in the development of Audi electrification. Officials say they will continue to deepen cooperation with their Chinese partners, when FAW-Volkswagen Audi will have 12 domestic Audi models. In February this year, FAW-Volkswagen Audi sales Division was upgraded to FAW-Volkswagen Audi sales Co., Ltd., the new company will be responsible for FAW-Volkswagen Audi domestic models, Audi imported models, and Audi domestic PPE models to be launched in 2024. "the first electric car on the PPE platform will be the Q6 e-tron electric SUV, the new car will be unveiled in 2022, and the first domestic electric car made by Audi FAW New Energy may also be locked in the Q6 e-tron," Dusman said.

Some analysts pointed out that Audi's decision may be in line with the electrification development of parent company Volkswagen in the future. On March 15, Volkswagen Group announced its development plan for the next 10 years on Battery Day. According to the plan, Volkswagen Group's new energy vehicle sales will need to account for 6-8% of the total sales in 2021, based on Volkswagen Group's annual sales of 10 million vehicles. Volkswagen Group needs to deliver 60-800000 new energy vehicles this year. By 2030, Volkswagen New Energy will have more than 70% of the European market, and its market share in North America and China will rise to more than 50%.

Audi's announcement of the electrified transition came as no surprise after the British luxury brand Jaguar announced that it would become a pure electric car brand in 2025 and would only produce and sell electric vehicles. Swedish luxury brand Volvo has also announced that it will be fully electric by 2030, when only electric cars will be sold. In addition, including GM, Ford, MINI and other car companies have announced the time of electrification. In the extremely radical electric development strategy, Audi brand can only follow the development of the market, once delayed, it will lag behind the market.

Although the Audi brand does not specify when to stop developing the internal combustion engine, when the last fuel vehicle will go off the line and when to become a pure electric vehicle brand, in the face of the radical electric development strategy of many car companies, the Audi brand is obviously still relatively conservative, but there is no doubt that electrification will become the development trend of the automobile industry.

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