Audi will ditch gas completely by 2033

Like many of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, Audi has come to realize the future of cars does not include gas. The German manufacturer announced this week that it plans to launch only all-electric vehicles by 2026. By 2033, Audi says it’s not going to produce a single combustion engine (h/t Electrek).

CEO Markus Duesmann made the official announcement at this year’s Climate Neutrality Foundation conference. “With this roadmap, we are creating the clarity necessary to make a decisive and powerful transition to the electric age,” Duesmann said. “We’re sending the signal that Audi is ready.”

Audi already has a pretty stellar lineup of all-electric and hybrid electric vehicles, but this is the first time we’re hearing of a definite commitment to end the company’s long reliance on gas. Notably, Audi says it will continue its long-term research into improving the efficiency of its combustion engines right up until the moment it stops producing them, in an effort to make its remaining gas-guzzling time as environmentally friendly as possible.

Already a leader — Though Audi isn’t exactly a go-to for electric vehicles in the way Tesla is, the company has already made impressive developments in its alt-fuel vehicle research. Just last month, the company unveiled a vehicle charging concept that would store power in swappable batteries, thereby eliminating the need for long plugged-in charging sessions.

The concept all-electric Audis we’ve seen so far have been pretty incredible, too. Like the A6 E-Tron, which includes a game that projects from the headlights.

All-in on all-electric — As much as it pains us to say it, Tesla has certainly normalized the concept of all-electric vehicles in the last few years. The public opinion on gas-guzzlers has shifted significantly as of late, which has essentially given traditional car companies the go-ahead to put more of their resources into making cars that don’t use gas at all.

Only now are the world’s largest automakers listening to the changing tide of public opinion. Volvo committed to going all-electric by 2030 just months after introducing its first all-electric vehicle; GM’s plans to leave gas behind will stretch until 2035. Plenty of smaller companies are rushing in with impressive electric vehicles of their own, too.

In five years’ time, all of Audis new vehicles will ditch gas for good. By 2050 the company hopes to be entirely carbon neutral. Hopefully the planet is still inhabitable by that point. Haha.