According to Audi CEO Markus Duesmann, the company will instead concentrate on improving current petrol and diesel designs, as well as building EVs.
The reasoning behind the decision is simple: with the adoption of the Euro 7 emission standard in Europe scheduled for 2025, making new performance engines compatible with the new requirements would incur too much expenditure.
As a result, Audi sees its future in pure battery-electric cars, such as the existing e-tron and e-tron GT models (see video). The SUV-shaped Q4 e-tron will be joining them soon, followed by other models and possibly even all-electric versions of traditional cars such as the A6 or A7.
Audi had previously mentioned its dedication to become an EV-only manufacturer by 2035, but it looks like this may happen much sooner than anticipated.