VW Will Continue Making Combustion Engines Until 2040 And Beyond

Recent remarks made by Volkswagen head of brand strategy Michael Jost sent the automotive community into a bit of a frenzy.

Jost, speaking to media at an industry conference, proclaimed that 2026 “will be the last product start on a combustion-engine platform,” from VW. Many took this as evidence that VW is phasing out the gasoline engine, but that’s far from true.

Jost was saying that VW will begin work on its next-generation combustion engine platform around 2026. The platform will be the last all-new internal combustion engine vehicle platform from VW, but it will remain in production for many years after its introduction.

Furthermore, it may take three to four years for the platform to actually reach production, so we may not see the VW platform in question until closer to 2030. As vehicle platforms require major invest, they also tend to stay in production for more than 10 years. That means VW will be building new internal combustion cars until 2040 and beyond.

Speaking to Australia’s CarSales in a recent interview, VW board member for production development Frank Welsch attempted to quell some of the rumors swirling around the future of its ICE platforms. He explained that while many of VWs future offerings will be electric, its ICE platforms aren’t going anywhere, as they will still be needed to serve markets without EV infrastructure like Africa.

“We are not stopping making combustion engines in 2026,” Welsch told CarSales.

“What Mr Jost was saying was a focus on the Paris [climate change] agreement and the start of developing this combustion-engined platform.”

“There was a European focus in his comments. There will still be regions – Africa, for example – where we are selling optimised combustion-engined vehicles for many years after that point.”

And like most major automakers, VW is apprehensive to put all of its eggs in one basket. “We are still committed to developing a wide range of power source for our vehicles: petrol, diesel, CNG, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electrification,” Welsch added.

So don’t worry, VW fans. VW’s gasoline and diesel engines aren’t going anywhere, although they will be less commonplace going forward as it more electric offerings begin to populate the marketplace.

[source: CarSales]

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