New Skoda boss Klaus Zellmer wants to make the Czech car brand more emotional and further develop it towards SUVs. The subsidiary of Volkswagen will bring to the market the announced modern small electric car at an affordable price only in a few years.
“Skoda is an honest, authentic brand with strong traditions, which we now want to emphasize even more. We will become more emotional and strive for strong design differentiation,” Zellmer said in an interview. Auto Motor and Sports. In addition, Skoda “will go even further towards SUVs, i.e. taller cars with a higher driving position and a better view of the road.”
While other manufacturers tend to stop producing small series or not develop them further, Skoda wants to remain strong in the small car segment. “Skoda has traditionally been very strong in the subcompact internal combustion engine segment – and will remain so,” says Zellmer. In the short term, there will be no electric subcompact Skoda: “We are not yet seeing the necessary scaling effects that we need for subcompact battery-powered electric vehicles. Therefore, the first proposals of electric models are more relevant to the upper segments, and not to the lower ones.
According to Zellmer, the goal is to offer a small battery-powered car for around 20,000 euros. “It is important for us to stay true to the character of the brand and to offer excellent value for money vehicles even in the entry-level segment. Therefore, naturally, we will be present there a little later. Our goal is a small battery-powered car for around 20,000 euros. With our high quality standards, this is an extremely ambitious goal for which we are fighting.”
Skoda won’t introduce a compact electric car until the middle of the decade. It will share the new platform with similarly sized series from subsidiaries VW and Cupra. In May, there was a current forecast for three models. Skoda’s design looks like a small SUV, seemingly borrowing the angular shape of the original design for VW’s small electric car.
According to earlier statements, Skoda is taking slightly longer than VW and Cupra to get its small electric car on the planned group platform. The VW model should arrive in 2025 and will probably cost around 25,000 euros. For the Cupra car, which was announced as particularly sporty, there is still no further information on the launch date and price.
With the CitigoE iV, Skoda has already been offering a small electric car since 2019 at a starting price of 20,950 euros. VW e-up variant, later valued at 24,990 euros! but no longer available.
Source: Ecomento
