A brand new electrical automotive property mannequin from Skoda was initially scheduled for unveiling throughout the subsequent two years, nonetheless this has been delayed till late 2027 or 2028, Autocar has reported.
The electrical property mannequin was to be a part of six EVs set for unveiling in that two yr interval, together with the Elroq C-segment electrical SUV that made its debut this week, the Epiq, a productionised Imaginative and prescient 7S idea, and the Enyaq and Enyaq Coupé crossover facelifts.
This property mannequin that’s within the pipeline is claimed to hold over the Octavia nameplate, which is at current in its fourth era for the mannequin that’s comprised of each notchback and property bodsystyles.
“With the slowdown of the transformation into battery-electric automobiles, we’re revisiting that [timeline]. We’re checking the sequence of these vehicles. The cadence now [is] the Enyaq Coupé, the Elroq, the following one is the Epiq, and the following one down the road would be the SUV, [and] the 7S [concept]. After that – it could possibly be 2027, 2028 – we’re aiming for an Octavia property,” Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer instructed Autocar.
Inner combustion engine-powered fashions such because the Fabia, Kamiq and Scala have been initially earmarked for discontinuation by 2027, nonetheless these fashions have been retained till the tip of the last decade as electrical car gross sales are seeing a downturn, Zellmer stated.
Final month, the European Car Producers’ Affiliation (ACEA) has known as for a revision of the European Union’s emissions targets for combustion engine-powered vehicles as gross sales of BEVs within the area continued to drop as of September.
New automotive registrations within the European Union dropped by 18.3% in August 2024 and registrations of battery-electric automobiles (BEVs) dropped by 43.9% to 92,627 models, down from 165,204 models in the identical interval final yr based on the ACEA. In the meantime, market share held by BEVs within the area dropped 21% in comparison with the identical month within the earlier yr, based on the affiliation.
Skoda is sacrificing revenue on the brand new Elroq EV SUV to make sure it’s priced competitively, Skoda advertising head Martin Jahn instructed Autocar, to ensure that it to draw robust gross sales and thus assist Skoda meet its CO2 emissions targets for 2025.
“I admit that this isn’t probably the most worthwhile automotive in our line-up, and we simply should work on the prices, particularly on the battery prices, to make the electrical vehicles extra worthwhile sooner or later,” Jahn stated.
The shortage of selection in EV bodystyles can also be a barrier to rising EV gross sales, Zellmer added. “Individuals at all times purchase vehicles for the least possible trigger they want them for. In order that they purchase a combi [estate] as a result of they have been at one time limit… they needed to put this enormous field of a wardrobe within the automotive, so now they want a combi once more,” he stated.
Zellmer additionally stated the vary nervousness is ‘completely emotional’ somewhat than rational. “It’s altering the habits, however individuals nonetheless discover it tough to alter their behaviour in the direction of battery-electric automobiles so we have to give individuals time to be prepared for that, and that is why we provide options,” Skoda’s CEO stated.
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