Škoda’s Electric Future
ŠKODA is perfectly poised for the emerging e-mobility era, with its first electric vehicle and first plug-in hybrid to hit the market next year. Come 2025, there will be 10 electrified ŠKODA models.
We are witnessing the biggest changes in more than 100 years of motoring – digitalisation, online services, autonomous driving, carsharing and alternative transport services. All this is around the corner.
E-mobility, on the other hand, is already knocking at the door, which means that you will soon be able to sit at the wheel of an electric ŠKODA vehicle. You can look forward to two electrically driven ŠKODA models just next year, when the ŠKODA SUPERB PHEV – (a plug-in hybrid version of ŠKODA’s flagship model) along with ŠKODAs first purely electric car – the eCITIGO – take their market bow.
The electric CITIGO is the ideal car for the city, where its compact dimensions and emission-free operation will come most to the fore. The SUPERB PHEV, ŠKODA’s first plug-in hybrid, will combine an internal combustion engine with electric drive and also offer the option of a purely electric ride.
The year 2020 will be truly revolutionary, as this is when the mass-produced version of the VISION E study will be unveiled. This is going to be ŠKODA’s first purely electric car designed on the MEB platform, i.e. the Group’s modular kit for electric vehicles.
The VISION E concept, an all-electric all-wheel drive SUV with 225 kW power output, Level 3 autonomous driving technology, ample infotainment opportunities and internet-connected remote vehicle control, was showcased in 2017. The production model, like the concept, promises a driving range of up to 500 km.
By 2025, ŠKODA’s portfolio will include 10 electrified models in various segments, six of which will be all-electric, the others will be plug-in hybrids and hybrids. In addition, models featuring highly efficient internal combustion engines will also continue to be made. They could be delivering even cleaner and even thriftier operation by combining natural gas (CNG) – as an alternative fuel – and an electric rear axle. This hybrid technology was demonstrated by VISION X, the latest hybrid SUV study. All cars will continue to be manufactured in the Czech Republic, along with electrical components for the plug-in hybrids of all Volkswagen Group brands.
The development of these vehicles and related technology is among the objectives pursued by ŠKODA's Strategy 2025 and is the fruit borne of major investment in research and development. “By 2022, we will be investing a full two billion euros into electromobility and new mobile services. These investments encompass new products and the production, purchasing, quality and launch of new vehicles. This is the biggest investment programme in ŠKODA’s history,” explains Bernhard Maier, ŠKODA AUTO Board Chairman. ŠKODA, then, has been thoroughly primed for the onset of motoring’s electric age.