"Have to rethink" - Audi boss pleads for car-free days and speed limits

Audi boss Markus Duesmann is talking about car-free days in view of the energy crisis. "In order to better attune us to the situation and the need to save in Germany, there could be car-free days again, like in the 1970s," he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

He also sees a speed limit as "a helpful symbol". This requirement in particular should cause astonishment in the automotive industry: only recently, Hildegard Müller, President of the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), had again rejected a speed limit. Drivers don't need "instructions".

At the same time, the Audi CEO was close to the people and shared the following observation with his interviewers: "I can already see on the autobahn that people are running out of money," says the 53-year-old. Because of the high fuel prices, some drivers were obviously trying to save fuel: Many are now driving on the right at 100 km/h.

However, he does not believe that money "as the only regulator" is enough in this extraordinary situation in which Germany is now: "We have to rethink, realize that our lives are changing."

Duesmann does not expect a resumption of energy supplies from Russia in the long term either. The war of aggression launched by the country against Ukraine is a turning point that Western countries must meet with harshness: "An end to the war due to economic weakness is not an option," the "SZ" quotes him as saying.

Should there really be car-free days as a reaction to the current energy crisis, he also wants to use them privately, says Duesmann: "If it's a Sunday, I'll ride my racing bike on the closed motorway."

Unlike other German car manufacturers, Audi is fully committed to electromobility. From 2026 onwards, the company no longer wants to launch any new cars with petrol or diesel engines. By 2033, the transition to electronic drives should then be complete.