Skoda hopes that the dramatic Vision 7S Concept will pave the way for a new design direction that will further differentiate it from its Volkswagen Group siblings.

While speaking at a recent event in Prague, Skoda chief executive Klaus Zellmer said the car manufacturer is looking to attract customers not within the broader VW Group. Skoda has also resisted calls from within VW, including former chief executive Herbert Diess, that the brand be moved down market.

“We are not after VW passenger car customers,” Zellmer told Auto News. “We want to attract customers that are not within the wider group. This is why we have made the design [of the Vision 7S Concept] so different from where we are today.”

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Skoda is planning a plethora of new models as it looks to continue its fight against the likes of Renault, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, and Peugeot. Among the new models in the works are three electric vehicles, the first of which will land in 2024 and be smaller than the Enyaq. A small car using the VW Group’s MEB Entry platform is also in the works and tipped to arrive in 2025. A flagship seven-seat electric SUV will then launch the following year while a compact electric hatchback is also being readied for 2027.

Helping to bring these new models to lift will be investments into electric mobility worth €7.45 billion ($7.5 billion) and €700 million ($704 million) in digitalization by 2025.

Skoda wants to establish itself as the fifth largest volume brand in Europe, something that will require it to overtake both Hyundai and Ford. Changes are needed in China, however.

The nation was long Skoda’s largest market and accounted for upwards of 30 per cent of its sales. However, this figure dropped to just 13 per cent in 2021 and sales in the first seven months of this year were down 65 per cent from 2021. Skoda sales head Martin Jahn acknowledged that a new strategy is needed in China, although Zellmer said a decision on this strategy has not been made.