VW to end sale of combustion engine cars in Europe by 2035

Volkswagen (VW) will end the sale of combustion engine cars in Europe by 2035, according to an interview in Munich, Germany-based newspaper Münchner Merkur with Klaus Zellmer, a member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, with responsibility for Sales, Marketing and After Sales.

The Volkswagen brand of the Volkswagen group, which owns other brands, would increase its share of electric vehicles to 70% of total sales in the region by 2030, he said. The Volkswagen brand has annual deliveries topping the six million mark. Wolfsburg, Germany, is the brand’s nerve center – home to the brand headquarters and the development center, and where the main plant is located. It operates more than 50 production locations on all five continents and employs more than 200,000 people. Vehicle deliveries are highest in China and Europe.

“We prepare for a possible tightening of [EU climate] regulations,” he said. Volkswagen will phase out production lines of cars equipped with internal combustion engines in Europe between 2033 and 2035. 

Whereas the timeline for the U.S. would be similar to Europe, the phase out in China will come later. Africa and South America would take significantly longer due to lack of charging infrastructure.

Zellmer said some countries in Europe would ban combustion engines sooner than others, while EVs don’t make sense in countries where coal is the primary source of electricity generation.

“That’s why we need a little wiggle room regarding the use of combustion engines or battery-electric cars.” 

He added that Volkswagen would continue to invest in improving the efficiency of its combustion engines and plans to use diesel fuel technology in the future. 

Last week, Audi, which is one of the Volkswagen Group’s passenger car brands, officially announced that it will phase out production of its last internal combustion engines by 2033.