We are living in the final years of the internal combustion engine as we know it and come the end of this decade, it could be tough to buy a new car without at least some form of electrification.
Regardless of what your budget for a new vehicle is, everyone will feel the impact of the car industry’s shift to hybrids and ultimately, all-electric vehicles. For example, if you’re particularly fond of the cars produced by Lotus, the newly-introduced Emira has already been confirmed as the final car it will build with an internal combustion engine.
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One only needs to look across the broader industry to understand just how seriously some car manufacturers are making the shift to EVs. For example, Jaguar will go all-electric from 2025, all new models released by Audi from 2026 will be electric (you’ll still be able to buy pre-existing ICE models past that date), Volvo will only make EVs beyond 2030, Mercedes is working to become all-electric by 2030, and Ford expects 40 to 50 per cent of its global sales to be for battery-electric vehicles by 2030.
The introduction of all-electric model ranges will quite often depend on the market. For example, VW will only sell EVs in Europe by 2035 but will continue to build combustion-powered models beyond that date in countries including the United States and China. Honda also plans to go all-electric in North America, China, and Japan by 2040, the same date being targeted by Hyundai. General Motors also plans to go all-electric by 2035.
With all these dates in mind, there should be plenty of enticing combustion-powered vehicles introduced in the coming five years or so but in 13-15 years, buying one could prove to be a real challenge.
So, with the inevitable advent of electrification, what do you think will be the last new internal combustion engine car that you’ll buy?
