Carmakers foretell the end of internal combustion engines, such are their plans
The United Kingdom announced that in 2030 it would ban the sale of cars with petrol or diesel engines. And it is not the only one planning such a step. All this, together with the pressure of the European authorities to reduce fleet emissions, is forcing carmakers to invest heavily in electrification. And someone will do nothing but electric cars. What is the electrical strategy of cars? Take a look at the overview.
Aston Martin
Â
According to Autocar magazine, the first electrified Aston Martin will arrive later this year. It will be a new variant of the DBX SUV, according to the British magazine, probably with a mildhybrid unit from the Mercedes offer, which owns part of the Aston Martin shares. The SUV will then also come in 2023 as a plug-in hybrid. And for the third time, this time in a new generation, the sport utility vehicle will also become the first Aston Martin electric car in 2025. It is likely to use an MMA electric platform from Mercedes.
It will be followed by a sports electric car, the introduction of which is also planned for 2025. Two years earlier, the production of the Valhalla hybrid supersport is to begin, and the production version of the Valkyrie hybrid hypersport is still awaited. Autocar claims that by 2030, 90 percent of Aston Martin's offer is to be electrified and the production of cars with internal combustion engines will be limited in some way - for example, for markets where it will still be possible to buy such a car.
Audi
Â
Audi is reportedly currently thinking about the end of internal combustion engines. According to the German magazine Handelsblatt, the decision is to fall by the summer of this year. However, the question then is whether Audi will also reveal the end date of the internal combustion engines. However, a solution similar to that of Volkswagen, to which Audi belongs, is offered. As you will read below, he plans to significantly reduce the range of models with an internal combustion engine, but so far he will probably not get rid of them completely. But he will probably no longer develop new units, just modify existing ones. And this is the path that Audi could take. After all, the brand's representatives admit that they need internal combustion engines because of their earnings and their investment in electrical transformation.
In any case, in three years, electric cars should account for a third of Audi's sales, with twenty on offer. In the last week alone, two new electric models have been added. First, the Q4 e-Tron SUV with a classic body was introduced as a hybrid of an SUV and a Sportback coupe, which will offer one or two electric motors, a maximum of 220 kW, and a range of up to 520 km. It was followed by the concept of the A6 e-Tron sedan on the forthcoming PPE platform, which has an electrical system with a voltage of 800 V and can therefore charge up to 270 kW. Audi will then share this technical basis with Bentley and Porsche.
Bentley
Â
The end of internal combustion engines is announced not only by the mainstream but also by luxury car manufacturers. One of them is Bentley, who provided a clear plan for her future at the end of last year. In 2030, we will not produce any petrol engine, said Adrian Hallmark, head of the British carmaker, in November last year. Given that the carmaker does not have a single electric car in its portfolio today, this was a relatively bold statement. All the more so as the first electric Bentley will be introduced in 2025, but a year later the brand has an offer to create exclusively electric or plug-in hybrid cars. On the contrary, earlier, in 2023, every car should have its own hybrid variant on offer. And last year, another goal was added to electromobility to be carbon neutral by 2030.
BMW
Â
BMW does not yet reject internal combustion engines, it counts on them at least until the end of the current decade. At the same time, however, like others, he thinks electrically. The plan of the German manufacturer is currently such that at least half of the sales of the entire German concern (which also includes the Mini and Rolls-Royce), not just BMW itself, will be generated by electric cars in 2030. Electric cars with blue and white propellers will be available in all segments where the brand will operate. So far, the latest is the BMW iX and the BMW i4.
However, since 2030, for example, the Mini cannot be bought other than with an electric drive. Just three years earlier, electric cars accounted for half of the British manufacturer's sales. At the same time, the Mini has only one electric car, the Cooper SE, and within two years it will be complemented by an emission-free version of the new Countryman. And the electric car will be offered by Rolls-Royce, probably as early as 2025. Like BMW, however, the British luxury car manufacturer does not completely reject internal combustion engines.
By the way, BMW is preparing a small series of hydrogen models and Hydrogen Next next year, so in addition to battery power, it is still dealing with hydrogen energy.
Ferrari
Â
Two years ago, Ferrari boasted the first serial plug-in hybrid, the SF90 Stradale model. And in 2025 he is going to go even further. According to the head of the brand, John Elkann, who was quoted, for example, by the British magazine Auto Express, in just four years, the carmaker will present its first electric car with a prancing horse. More detailed information about the upcoming model is not yet known, so it is not certain whether the electric drive will get a classic supersport, or an SUV so far referred to as the Purosangue, which should have its premiere before the first Ferrari electric car.
Ford
Â
Do you want a Ford with an internal combustion engine? You will have to hurry. Since 2030, the blue oval will no longer offer any other than a fully electric car. And from 2026 than other than plug-in hybrid or electric. At the same time, we are talking about passenger cars; in 2030, two-thirds of the pieces sold should be fully electric for deliveries. It is not yet clear when the internal combustion engines will end up in them as well.
The step of electrifying all passenger cars without distinction is clearly aimed at the British market, which is one of the most important for the carmaker in Europe. At the same time, it is paradoxical that today Ford has the only electric car in Europe - the SUV Mustang Mach-E, which, moreover, is just beginning to be sold in the Czech Republic. Blue Oval has also started cooperation with VW, thanks to which it will be able to use its MEB platform for electric cars.
Honda
Â
Next year, every Honda sold in Europe will have an electrified motor. This means at least a hybrid drive, which will also be given to the upcoming new generation of SUV HR-V. However, the development of electric cars will also continue, there is currently only one in Europe, a small model marked e. For example, in China, ten Honda electric cars will be introduced in the next five years.
Hyundai
Â
Hyundai is also moving towards electric mobility. This, together with Kia and other corporate brands, relies primarily on the new E-GMP electrical architecture. It premiered last December and should support a range of models from potentially smaller electric cars to electric super sports. In any case, the brand wants to introduce twelve new electric cars globally in the next four years, and by 2040 its entire offer is to be electrified. The goal is to have eight to ten percent of the global electric car market. In 2025, the brand wants to sell 560,000 battery-electric cars a year worldwide.
The Ioniq 5 crossover, the first model of the Ioniq brand to be focused on electric vehicles (and is also one of the twelve new models), has become a pioneer of the electric future. It will soon be complemented by the Ioniq 6 sedan, which will be based on a Hyundai Prophecy study, and the large Ioniq 7 SUV.
It is not without interest that the Koreans have not yet said for sure when and if they will end up with internal combustion engines. However, according to sister Kie, which does not plan this step yet, Hyundai is not considering the complete abolition of internal combustion engines on a global scale at the moment.
On the contrary, we can expect more investment in hydrogen propulsion. Hyundai trusts him as one of the few manufacturers and will start selling Nexo SUVs in the Czech Republic this year (you can find his test here ), although the infrastructure for hydrogen replenishment is practically non-existent. In the future, the brand also wants to focus on the growth and construction of hydrogen infrastructure.
Jaguar Land Rover
Â
As early as 2025, Jaguar will only offer electric cars. A sharper change, of course, was announced by the British manufacturer in February this year, as well as the fact that due to the new strategy, it is giving up the XJ electric sedan, which was in an advanced stage of development and was supposed to have its premiere later this year. Instead, Jaguar has set out to develop a completely new platform for electric cars, while at the same time declaring in advance that it will reduce the range of models in favor of higher profits and quality, not quantity.
Land Rover also thinks electrically. But not as radically as the Jaguar. The producer of SUVs and off-road vehicles will introduce six electric cars in the next five years, but the first in three years. By 2030, sixty percent of Land Rover sales are expected to emit zero emissions while driving, but by 2036, not all cars sold by the brand should have any emissions. By the way, the Land Rovers will stand on two platforms other than the Jaguar.
Like BMW or Hyundai, the Jaguar Land Rover also thinks towards hydrogen. Therefore, a prototype car with fuel cells is to be launched within a year. And one more thing, in 2039, the models, production, and supply chain of the British manufacturer are to be carbon neutral.
KIA
Â
By 2026, a total of eleven new electric cars, seven of them on the E-GMP platform, reserved for electric cars. On the other hand, there is also the assurance that internal combustion engines do not end under the hood, because the transition to electricity is different in different parts of the world, and petrol or diesel units can still be useful. This is in brief the strategy of the Korean carmaker Kia, which belongs to Hyundai.
"The new electric cars will cover a number of segments and will include available models," said Artur Martins, head of the brand's global division, at the end of March. This was at a time when it was the brand's first electric car on the aforementioned E-GMP platform - the large EV6 hatchback.
By 2026, Kia wants to sell half a million electric cars a year worldwide, and by 2030 there will be 800,000 a year.
McLaren
Â
This year, Artura will become the first truly mass plug-in hybrid of McLaren, but certainly not the last. Even the British supersport manufacturer is preparing for an electric future. Last December, the head of the carmaker, Mike Flewitt, in an interview with Automotive News magazine, announced that in 2026 the entire McLaren offer will be hybridized, and indicated that after 2035, there will be nothing but electric cars on offer. The first electric model will be presented by the manufacturer at the end of this decade.
Mazda
Â
Although Mazda entered the world of electromobility late, its pilot electric model MX-30 started selling only last year, but it will step on the pedal all the more now. In 2030, Mazda wants to have its entire offer electrified, as it announced in early February when presenting its financial results. It is true that electrification does not only mean pure electromobility (although the carmaker works on a new platform exclusively for electric cars). This will include mild hybrids or, from 2022, plug-in hybrids. In 2050, Mazda would like to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the production chain.
And when the MX-30 was mentioned in the introduction, it should please "traditionalists" in the coming months. He will come with a Wankel engine. However, not as a source of propulsion, but as an extension of the range - something similar, even with a conventional petrol engine, was offered some time ago by the BMW i3. Arrival in Europe has not yet been confirmed, in America, according to Autoblog, this version will appear next year and will be followed by the MX-30 as a classic plug-in hybrid and gasoline hybrid. After all, in Japan, the MX-30 is even sold as a mildhybrid.
Mercedes-Benz
Â
Mercedes-Benz will fully launch the electric model offensive this year. In January, it unveiled the compact EQA SUV, and a few days ago the EQS limousines on the new MMA modular platform for electric cars with a range of up to 770 km and the seven-seater EQB SUV premiered. It will, like EQS, be available in several variants. In addition, the EQE sedan will be introduced this year, and the EQE and EQS models will be created next year as SUVs. The electric version of the Citan compact delivery, or its personal version with the EQT designation, is also planned. It is already possible to buy the EQC and EQV models, or the electric versions of the Vito and Sprinter vans, today. And the Smart, which Mercedes owns half, has been an exclusively electric brand for some time now.
However, Mercedes' strategy goes further, specifically until 2039, when it originally expected its offer to become carbon neutral. However, in March, brand boss Ola Källenius announced that he wanted to accelerate the carbon neutrality plan. But he has not specified how much yet. In any case, by 2030, more than half of all Mercedes passenger cars sold should be fully electric or at least plug-in hybrid. This, on the other hand, also suggests that three-pointed star does not completely abandon internal combustion engines, although it quite clearly prefers electric propulsion.
Polestar
Â
Polestar is already betting on purely electric engines, its sedan 2 is fully electric and the coupe with the designation 1 with plug-in hybrid drive will end this year. The future of the brand is thus fully electric. And in 2030, the brand wants to introduce its first climate-neutral car, whose project is called Polestar 0. The goal is to completely get rid of emissions not only during car operation but within the entire production process - even with still very emission-intensive battery production.
Renault-Nissan Alliance
Â
Renault also intends to massively electrify, gradually offering its entire offer. The new Mégane, which will be purely electric, should have its premiere later this year, which foreshadows the entire future of the carmaker. Although it does not completely combine with internal combustion engines, they will play an ever smaller and smaller role in passenger cars. Diesel generators should completely disappear from them, which will continue to appear only in vans (but even these, such as the new Kangoo, will run on electricity). As such, Renault is expected to sell 30 percent of electric cars and 35 percent of hybrids by 2025 and is also planning to launch seven new cars with purely electric drive. In addition, the brand also wants to focus its attention on hydrogen propulsion, which will find application in the already mentioned light commercial vehicles.
On the contrary, the petrol models of the Alpine sports brand are sure of the end. In the coming years, it will only produce electric cars, including a sharp hatchback or SUV. Alpine also wants to cooperate with the British Lotus. And this year it will launch its first electric car on European markets in the form of the Spring Electric Dacia model.
Renault's alliance partner Nissan announced last year that it would like to sell one million electric and hybrid cars a year by 2024. New models, such as the Ariya SUV, also help. And a new generation of electric vans with Renault technology is also being prepared. In total, the Japanese promised up to eight new electric cars by 2023 last year.
Stellantis
Â
The merger of the French PSA and the Italian-American FCA created the Stellantis group at the beginning of this year, which, like rivals, has big plans in electromobility. According to Automotive News Europe, the group will use a total of four special STLA platforms for its electric cars, depending on the size of the car. Its own version will be given to small cars, compacts, large models, and in addition there will be one electric base designed for pick-ups and off-road vehicles with frame construction.
STLA platforms for compacts and large cars will be the first to be shown, this will be around the middle of 2023 and the range should be over 700 and 800 km, respectively. This will be followed by a variant with a frame with a range of over 500 km, and the last version will be a version for small cars and some compacts with a range of over 500 km. It will start appearing from 2026, until then the models will use the second generation of the eCMP base.
By 2025, Carlos Tavares, the group's head, wants to electrify 98 percent of Stellantis's European and 96 percent of North American passenger cars. So it will not only be pure electric cars, but also hybrids or plug-in hybrids. Their share of European sales is expected to be up to 70 percent in 2030. And in the supply segment, the group will not only rely on battery-electric cars but also on hydrogen propulsion. This year, it wants to launch the Citroën Jumpy, Opel Vivaro, and Peugeot Expert with fuel cells, a load capacity of one tonne, and a range of around 400 km.
It should be noted that Stellantis includes Alfa Romeo, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep, Opel, and Peugeot, among others. Some of them already offer electric cars today - the most recent are the Citroën ë-C4, Fiat 500e, or Opel Mokka-e.
Volvo
Â
Like the Mini or Ford, Volvo has set 2030 as the key to its electrical strategy. In just nine years, the Swedish model's only model will no longer have an internal combustion engine; on the contrary, they will all run exclusively on electricity. In 2025, half of all cars produced should be electric. At the same time, Volvo is offering two electric cars both based on the XC40 SUV, but one of them is a hybrid with a coupe named C40. Volvo will then sell electric cars exclusively online and at fixed prices, similar to the American Tesla.
Volkswagen Group
Â
In 2030, 70 percent of Volkswagen cars sold in Europe will be electric. In March, the German carmaker unveiled a plan that doubled its original target. Nevertheless, internal combustion engines are not a completely dead issue, but they will have to be more efficient (and new engines will probably no longer be developed, only the existing units will be modified). There will also probably be more choice as to which model line will receive them in the future at least the Golf, Passat, T-Roc, Tayron, and Tiguan, key VW models, but they will probably have them in the next generation.
Every year we introduce at least one electric car, and we want to cover all segments, said Ralf Brandstätter, the carmaker's head, at a presentation of future plans in March. He also foresaw that from 2026, with the Trinity project, VW's flagship electric vehicle, the MEB platform will be gradually replaced by a new foundation from the Trinity project. But going back to the present, we can remind you that in addition to the existing ID.3 and ID.4 models, the ID.6 SUV premiered in China a few days ago exclusively for the local market, other ID family models, and their sports versions with the designation GTX.
However, Volkswagen belongs to the concern of the same name and it is not just about him. We outlined the future of Audi in a separate slide, but Seat is also preparing massive electrification. This year, it will present a production version of the Born model through the Cupra brand, followed in 2024 by the Tavascan SUV.
As such, Seat will introduce an available city electric car in 2025. For a change, Porsche is preparing a new generation of the Macan model, which will be exclusively electric, as well as other electric models on the PPE platform. According to ÄŒTK, Å koda should then introduce four electric cars by 2030, one of them probably in the size of the Octavia. However, none of the brands announced when it wanted to end the offer of internal combustion engines. In any case, the entire VW Group should sell 60 percent of electric cars a year in 2030.
Toyota
Â
Toyota, which is known mainly for hybrid and in recent years also hydrogen models (has recently launched the Mirai limousine for at least 1.7 million crowns), is already stepping into electromobility. The first swallow is the bZ4X concept, a medium-sized SUV with two electric motors, which was created in cooperation with Subaru and will appear on the market in the middle of next year. The same model is also expected from Subaru, which in the future intends to offer only electrified cars.
The concept is based on the modular e-TNGA platform for electric cars, which will become very important in the future. By the way, bZ means the beyond Zero connection, which is supposed to mark a shift beyond zero emissions and will become the hallmark of a number of future Toyota electric vehicles.
In total, the Japanese plan to introduce fifteen new electric cars worldwide by 2025, seven of which will belong to the bZ family. In total, they will have a portfolio of 70 electrified models, which also includes hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen-powered models. In Europe, by 2025, hybrids should account for over 70 percent of sales, plug-in hybrids, and electric cars, and it doesn't matter if battery or fuel cell, then ten percent. Toyota has not yet announced the end of internal combustion engines.