Following the debut of the fully-electric Enyaq iV crossover, Skoda will focus on producing a zero-emission small city car, as well as a family saloon, according to chairman Thomas Schafer.
The Enyaq is Skoda’s first model built on the VW Group’s MEB EV architecture, and next year, we can expect to see a Coupe variant joining the range as well, reports Autocar.
After stating that his company will focus its electric efforts on a city car and a saloon in the next two years, Schafer was asked whether the Czech brand is planning an electric equivalent for every combustion engine model in the range.
Read: Next-Generation Skoda Fabia To Keep Wagon Body Style
“First of all you’ve got to pay for all of it. I could wish for another 10 cars but the total investment won’t happen. We’re not going to double the portfolio,” he said.
“On the electric side, with the Enyaq and the Enyaq derivative that’s coming, that’s fine for now, but we need something smaller, maybe city-sized, and we need something in the flat [saloon] range, maybe an Octavia of the future, in a sense. For our brand, those are the most important electric vehicles we will see in this decade developing.”
As for a timeline with regards to an ID.3-like model, positioned below the Enyaq, Schafer wouldn’t expect it to arrive before sometime mid-decade.
“Starting vehicle concepts usually takes at least two or three years, so probably [the] middle of the decade, to be safe.”
“We still believe the Enyaq has a lot of potential to bridge quite a range of demand, going almost from a sleek SUV into estate terrain. We’re balancing and trying to find out when our factories have to changeover to electric vehicle production as well. It’s a tremendous investment to change a factory around so you don’t do that for fun.”
Regarding VW’s upcoming ID Lite platform, Skoda will definitely look to build something using that architecture, although “it will definitely look completely different [to the VW model],” concluded the Skoda boss.
