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Only a few years ago it looked as if the days of the petrol-fired engine were numbered.
Now makers such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Toyota are saying they expect to sell combustion-engine cars for longer than expected amid disappointing sales of electric vehicles (EVs).
Carmakers are feeling the pain of the EV slowdown after governments shut down popular subsidies for the technology, making the already more expensive electrics even less attractive to buyers.
Gaping holes in charging infrastructure also continue to turn off potential customers.

Some manufacturers are fettling new engines which they say are cleaner and more efficient than those that went before.
Even Porsche has apparently developed an innovative engine concept with a new type of crankshaft mechanism, described as “two times three strokes”. The aim is to get more power with cleaner and more efficient combustion, according to German car magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
Volkswagen’s chief financial officer, Arno Antlitz, said earlier this year that the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company intends to invest roughly €60 billion (US$63.4 billion) to “keep our combustion cars competitive”.
The European Commission is already mulling whether to delay the planned 2035 ban on the sale of combustion-engined cars in the European Union, and engineering departments at many car firms are reviving petrol-fired engine development programmes.
“The industry has slowly realised that the breakthrough of electro-mobility will take longer than expected, hoped or demanded,” said Alexander Timmer from Munich-based strategy consultants Berylls by AlixPartners.

“That’s why they are sending the combustion engine into overtime everywhere, postponing the phase-out and further developing many engines.”
So which models and technologies are in the pipeline?
Mercedes recently revealed details of its new petrol engine, which debuts in the new edition of the Mercedes CLA – a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine with mild hybrid technology.
An electric motor supports the petrol engine in the lower speed range. In city traffic, it should enable purely electric driving as well as electric gliding up to a speed of 100km/h (60mph).
The engine marks a revival of interest in hybrid solutions which get around the most worrying aspect of EVs for many would-be buyers, namely range anxiety or the fear of being stranded somewhere with empty batteries.
Further optimisation of modern combustion processes will allow significant increases in efficiency
Stefan Pischinger, an automotive technology expert
The CLA will initially be launched in mid-2025 as an all-electric before, probably at the beginning of 2026, customers will also be offered the new petrol engine as an alternative.
Ferrari and Aston Martin have already realised that electric cars fail to deliver the driving emotion buyers expect from these hallowed luxury brands.
That is why Aston Martin recently unveiled a new V12 petrol engine. Bugatti’s insanely expensive Tourbillon is even getting a new V16 petrol engine “because we can do it”, said company chief Mate Rimac.
Mercedes has been busy getting its popular E and C class limousines ready for the stringent Euro 7 emission regulations, while Audi has grabbed pole position with its new petrol engine.
Alongside its long-awaited Premium Platform Electric (PPE) range of electric power plants, Audi has come up with a new combustion engine architecture. It debuts in the new A5 limo and will spawn a completely new generation of petrol- and diesel-powered cars.
These all come with mild hybrid technology. With an extra-powerful starter motor and a better battery, this enables purely electric operation on short journeys.
Toyota, together with Mazda and Subaru, has also presented a new generation of four-cylinder combustion engines. They will soon be used across the entire range of the three brands.
Renault has also just founded a joint venture with the Chinese Geely Group which, under the name Horse Powertrain, will develop new combustion engines with and without hybrid components.

According to the partners, 17 engine plants are to be built on three continents for the Renault, Dacia, Geely Auto, Volvo, Lynk & Co, Proton, Nissan and Mitsubishi brands, among others. These will supply 130 countries with up to 5 million engines per year.
Expert Stefan Pischinger is convinced manufacturers are well advised to aim for the best of both internal combustion engine and electric technology. He heads the Centre for Mobile Propulsion at RWTH Aachen University in Germany and still sees enormous potential for the combustion engine.
One innovation is the preheated catalytic converters which let the engine warm up more quickly and waste less fuel while still cold.
“Further optimisation of modern combustion processes will allow significant increases in efficiency, especially in combination with future synthetic fuels,” he says. Where current petrol engines achieve efficiency levels of 42 per cent at best, up to 50 per cent will be possible in the future.


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New petrol and diesel engines are being engineered. Photo: Getty Images

A presentation for the new Mercedes-Benz CLA Class in 2023. A version with a hybrid engine powered by petrol and electric battery will be launched in 2025. The German carmaker is one of several turning their attention back to internal combustion engines as EV sales stall. Photo: AFP

A broken electric car charger station. Gaping holes in charging infrastructure are among the factors turning potential customers off electric vehicles. Photo: Getty Images

A worker fills a car with petrol in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Electro-mobility technology is taking longer to perfect than expected, leading carmakers to return their focus to internal combustion engine-powered vehicles. Photo: AFP

A petrol station attendant pumps diesel into a car. There is currently a revival of interest in hybrid technology among Mercedes and other carmakers. Photo: Getty Images

How does cycling benefit mind and body? Ask these Hong Kong riders who rode back to health

Cycling friends Patrick Ho, 70, and Jimmy Poon, 69, in Guilin, China in November, 2024.The two bounced back from critical health problems in large part thanks to cycling. Photo: Patrick Ho 

Jimmy Poon, 69, switched from running to cycling to regain his health after aggressive treatment – including two operations – for late-stage rectal cancer. Photo: Patrick Ho

Patrick Ho in Taiwan in 2023 on a group excursion to Hualien. Photo: Patrick Ho

Patrick Ho, 70, founder of The Thursday Ride Group, credits cycling with saving his life after detecting a serious heart problem while riding. Photo: Patrick Ho

The Thursday Ride Group members in Guilin, China, in November, 2024. Ho is near the centre, in purple and blue shirt; Poon is third from the right. Photo: Peter Yeung

The Thursday Riding Group visits a village in Yingde, Guangdong, in August 2024. Ho is third from the left; Jimmy Poon is on the far right. Photo: Peter Yeung

Christie’s purchase of classic car dealer amid art market slump hailed as ‘great news’

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Gooding & Company sold for US$18 million in 2023. Photo: courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.


The 1970 Porsche 917K Gooding & Company sold for US$14 million in 2017. The classic car seller announced on September 12 that it had agreed to a merger with Christie’s that even competitors are praising. Photo: courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.


The 1967 Toyota-Shelby 2000 GT Gooding & Company sold for just over US$2.5 million in 2022 as the most expensive Japanese car sold at auction. Photo: courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.

The 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Teardrop Coupe Gooding & Company sold for US$13.4 million in 2022 as the most expensive French car sold at auction. Photo: courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.

The 1995 McLaren F1 Gooding & Company sold for a record-breaking US$20.5 million in 2021. Photo: courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd.

New Netflix documentary celebrates Elvis Presley’s return to the rock’n’roll limelight

Elvis Presley  performing outdoors on a small stage in 1957. Photo: Getty Images

Elvis Presley from his TV appearance in 1968, which has since come to be known as the ’68 Comeback Special. It is now the subject of a Netflix documentary.

Elvis Presley in Bad Nauheim, Germany. Sergeant Presley returned to the US in 1960. Photo: Getty Images

Best apps for foreign visitors in China and which are useless – like Google Maps

WeChat and Alipay are the best apps for foreigners to download to use for payments in China since both began allowing users to link international cards to their payment systems. Photo: Getty Images

A customer makes an electronic Alipay payment on his smartphone to pay for his food at a restaurant in Beijing. Photo: AFP

An Alipay QR payment code (right, in blue) and a WeChat QR code (left, in green) are displayed at a street stall selling gadgets in Beijing for customers to scan to pay for items. Photo: AFP

A customer makes an electronic payment with Alipay on his smartphone for his food at a restaurant in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Motoring

Carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Toyota are launching cleaner, more efficient internal combustion engines. Are they here to stay?


Toyota

Mercedes-Benz

Porsche