New normal forces Audi’s hand.

Audi’s pragmatic new CEO, Markus Duesmann, is attempting to balance the brand’s electric vehicle ambitions with its internal combustion inventory.

Like many other automotive companies that trade strongly in Europe, Audi has a frightful set of new emissions regulations to contend with and has promised to become a carbon-zero operation by 2050.

The EU’s new Euro 7 engine regulations have been deemed impossible by some. Brussels is attempting to create a significant disincentive for any future petrol and diesel engine development, by setting nearly impossible standards for manufacturers to adhere to.

A 50% emission reduction has been set for internal combustion engines, by 2025. The message from politicians in Europe, to the automotive industry, could not be clearer: go electric, or go away.

Audi boss, Duesmann, has admitted that the company will attempt to keep its current diesel and petrol engines relevant, for the 2025 deadline. But an investment in new internal engine architectures or castings is simply not feasible under Euro 7. All new Audi’s launched from 2026, will be electric.

Speaking to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Duesmann has confirmed that Audi will not pursue any new engine development, for petrol or diesel. Engineers in those departments will busy themselves with attempting to keep the company’s current engine portfolio ‘legal’ to 2025 and beyond.

Audi has a huge market in China, and the expectation is that local volumes there, will support domestic production of some internal-combustion engines, into the early 2030s.

The cost to comply with emissions will be severe, but Audi has no choice. It will cost slightly less to adapt current engines than engineering a completely new line of Euro 7 compliant engines from scratch.

The stark reality is that Audi’s legacy models will all revert to battery power, soon. The next-generation of A4, A5, and A6 will be EVs. A1? In all likelihood, discontinued.

A3? A problematic issue for Audi to deal with, as VW has already confirmed that Golf8 will eventually be replaced by its ID range of hatchbacks.