Volkswagen saw its electric car sales decrease by 2.7% in 2024 when Audi fell even harder, with EV deliveries declining by 7.8%. Demand for the VW Group’s zero-emission models decreased by 3.4%, proving that the transition to an all-electric lineup will be bumpy. A new report indicates the two brands are looking to invest more money in facelifts of current ICE models. Doing so would prolong the life cycle of cars with combustion engines.
According to several insiders cited by German business newspaper Handelsblatt, VW and Audi intend to delay their EV goals in Europe. The Wolfsburg-based automaker had planned to go purely electric on the continent by 2033, but that’s apparently not the case anymore. As for the luxury brand from Ingolstadt, the lofty goal was to abandon combustion engines globally by the same year.
Audi has already admitted it’s staying “flexible,” according to a statement by CEO Gernot Döllner. At VW, head of technical development Kai Grünitz does not exclude the possibility of keeping the Golf Mk8 on sale until the middle of the next decade. An all-electric Golf Mk9 is still coming by the decade’s end, so VW isn’t ruling out selling two generations concomitantly for several years.
A decision regarding further investments in ICE models is expected to be taken at the beginning of March, says Handelsblatt. Should VW and Audi commit to gas-fueled cars, logic tells us it would impact sister models from other VW Group brands, specifically Skoda and SEAT/Cupra. However, if the European Union sticks to its ambitious goal of forcing automakers to sell only EVs starting in 2035, the automotive conglomerate will have no other way but to oblige.
Another VW Group brand, Porsche, has already readjusted its strategy, considering the weak demand for EVs. Last year, Taycan shipments plummeted by 49%, but there was a silver lining. The second-generation Macan generated over 18,000 sales in 2024, its first year on the market. Even so, the house of Zuffenhausen is pivoting back to combustion engines by putting ICE in future models originally developed as EVs.
Moving higher in the VW Group hierarchy, Bentley has pushed back the launch of its first EV by a year, from 2025 to 2026. Crewe had intended to abandon gas engines by 2030, but the latest goal is to go purely electric by 2035.
Similarly, Lamborghini, which outsold Bentley for the first time last year, has pushed back the launch of its inaugural EV. The four-seat Lanzador is coming out in 2029 instead of 2028. Launching around the same time, the second-generation Urus will be a strictly electric affair. However, the raging bull is not giving up on gas engines anytime soon. The V-12 Revuelto and V-8 Temerario will continue into the early 2030s.
As for Bugatti Rimac, which is co-owned by the Rimac Group (with a 55% share) and Porsche (with a 45% share), its first EV won’t hit the streets this decade. Its previous parent company, the VW Group, wanted to replace the W-16 Chiron hypercar with an EV, but plans changed when Rimac and Porsche became the decision-making companies.
We should clarify that the EU will not outright ban combustion engines starting in 2035. The rule mandates zero harmful emissions, leaving the door open for internal combustion engines powered by synthetic fuel or hydrogen. However, it remains highly unlikely that the two combined will fully replace gasoline by the middle of the next decade.
If demand for EVs doesn’t accelerate in Europe in the years to come, automakers will exert more pressure to convince the EU to delay the ban. In 2024, the market share of electric vehicles fell by 1% to 13.6% in the EU, according to official numbers published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
Whatever happens in Europe will have global ramifications since some of the industry’s biggest players are based on the continent.
