Skoda Needs To Find A Way To Convince Consumers To Pay More For EVs

As with most automakers these days, Skoda is chasing after buyers looking for some sort of electrification under their hood, with an assortment of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure battery-powered vehicles.

However, it seems that the toughest sub-segment to break into are electric cars. According to AutoNews, the Czech brand owned by the Volkswagen Group needs to find a way to convince customers to pay the inevitable premium that comes with electric powertrains.

“Electric vehicles will be more expensive than morels with normal engines, so we need to find the target group that is ready to pay more for these cars”, commented the company’s chief of sales and marketing, Alain Favey, at the annual press conference last week.

But what exactly are “these cars”?

A zero-emission version of the Citigo will be launched next year, to help the automaker meet the new CO2 emissions requirements. It will be joined by the Superb plug-in hybrid, which is believed to combine the 1.4-liter petrol engine with an electric motor.

Skoda wants to mimic Jaguar’s move with the i-Pace as well as Tesla with the Model X by producing a (obviously much cheaper) fully-electric SUV that’s expected in 2020. It will be underpinned by the VW Group’s MEB platform boasting a 500km (311-mile) range and will be assembled at Mlada Boleslav.

Another SUV will hit the assembly lines, this time with a hybrid powertrain. It was previewed by the Vision X concept and will be revealed, in production guise, at next year’s Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland.

In total, Skoda will launch 19 new cars by the turn of the decade, and between 2020 and 2025, they will introduce 5 electric vehicles.

Note: Skoda VisionC Concept pictured