Image: Audi“The union-led federal government has decided: we want genuine technology openness in the automotive sector. From now on, competition between the best drive systems will take place instead of politically imposed one-dimensionality,” the parliamentary group stated in an announcement. “The departure from the ideological end of the combustion engine is a success for the CSU. We have enforced our position and implemented the shared stances of the automotive industry and trade unions.”This demand is underpinned by a graphic featuring a blue car, the typical yellow stars of the EU flag, and the slogan “We are putting an end to the end of the combustion engine!” The copyright is attributed to “CSU in the Bundestag,” though the montage includes a small note stating ‘Image: AI-generated’. The graphic was also shared on Instagram.The fact that the current EU regulation is not actually ‘an end to the combustion engine’ but rather a technology-open rule that simply mandates zero grams of CO₂ emissions is, exceptionally, not the focus here. The car in the image no longer displays a brand logo but is easily recognisable as an Audi e-tron GT. However, this is not a technology-open combustion engine vehicle but a battery-electric car. Although Audi is headquartered in Bavaria, the e-tron GT is not even a Bavarian product: it is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg.It remains unclear whether the blunder is attributable to the AI or if a member of the CSU parliamentary group provided the AI with an image of an electric car as a template. For a party aiming to safeguard Germany’s status as an automotive nation through technology openness, this is an embarrassing mistake. Many comments under the Instagram post reflect this sentiment.csu-landesgruppe.de, instagram.com