Skoda to unveil electric SUV in 2020

Skoda is working on its first-ever electric car – a standalone SUV – that is scheduled to be launched in international markets in 2020. The electric SUV will be underpinned by the VW Group’s new MEB battery-electric platform, which was first revealed in the VW Budd-e MPV concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Explaining the decision to produce a standalone electric vehicle instead of basing it on an existing model, Skoda's UK brand director Duncan Movassaghi said: "It's easier to package something that was designed specifically to be an electric car. And electric cars will be more expensive (than petrols and diesels) for the foreseeable future, so it makes sense to produce a more premium model like an SUV."

The VW Group’s MEB architecture is specifically being developed for electric cars and has a target to produce a car with a range of over 482.80km, a 15-minute charging time and a cost below that of a comparative combustion engine. Skoda engineers are also part of the planning team working on the new battery-electric technology. For the new platform, the batteries are packaged in a flat, sandwich floor in the middle of the platform, which creates space to fit a third row of seats into the boot area.

Skoda will also launch plug-in hybrid versions of the Superb and the new Kodiaq SUV. Both models are due to launch in international markets in 2019 and will use batteries and motors available as part of the MQB platform component set.

The rapid introduction of plug-in hybrids and BEVs are part of Skoda chairman Bernhard Maier’s new 10-year corporate plan called Strategy 2025, which replaces the previous Strategy 2018 plan, which had no plans for electric Skodas. A replacement for the Yeti is also part of the product strategy. The new Yeti will share its platform with the Audi Q3 and new VW Tiguan and will be based on the compact SUV platform variant of the MQB.

The Strategy 2025 plan includes a wider range of SUV models, with Maier planning to expand Skoda into new markets where SUVs are big sellers. "We are in 102 global markets now, but we will expand that to more than 120 by the end of 2025," he said.

Skoda will move into new markets in Africa and South America, and build up its model range in China as well with two new China-specific models set to be launched shortly.