VW Says the Next Generation of Combustion Cars Will Be Its Last

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Volkswagen AG expects the era of the combustion car to fade away after it rolls out its next-generation gasoline and diesel cars beginning in 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, said Tuesday at an industry conference near the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. 'We're gradually fading out combustion engines to the absolute minimum.'

The world's largest automaker has started to introduce its first wave of electric cars, including next year's Porsche Taycan. The rollout across its stable of 12 automotive brands is forecast to comprise about 15 million vehicles, as the company earmarks $50 billion over the next five years to spend on its transformation to self-driving, electric cars. Production of the VW brand's I.D. Neo hatchback will start in 12 months in Germany, followed by other models from the I.D. line assembled at two sites in China as of 2020. VW plans to launch fully or partly electric versions across its lineup of more than 300 cars, vans, trucks and motorbikes by 2030. The company 'will continue to modify its combustion engine technology after the new platform is introduced next decade,' reports Bloomberg. 'After 2050, there may still be some gasoline and diesel models in regions where there is insufficient charging infrastructure, according to Jost.'

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