Volkswagen doesn’t expect the internal combustion engine to last much longer and it even expects that its next-generation fossil fuel powered cars will be the last ones that it develops. While that news does sound a bit shocking, we still have a few years to go, since VW’s next-generation gasoline and diesel cars won’t start rolling out until 2026.
“Our colleagues are working on the last platform for vehicles that aren’t CO2 neutral,” Michael Jost, strategy chief for Volkswagen’s namesake brand, stated. “We’re gradually fading out combustion engines to the absolute minimum.”
Over the next few years the VW Group will release several new electric cars, like the VW I.D. electric cars and the Porsche Taycan. Eventually the new electric cars will comprise about 15 million vehicles, which will see the VW Group invest $50 billion over the next five years for the zero emissions vehicles.
Even after the new platform for its gas and diesel powered cars debuts in the next decade, VW does expect that they will continue to live on for a bit, so VW will continue to tweak the old school technology. While electric cars are expected to become the norm in the next decade, there will still be some areas that lack charging infrastructure, so VW expects that there will still be some limited gasoline and diesel models in these areas after 2050.
Source: Automotive News
