A new electric car estate model from Skoda was initially scheduled for unveiling within the next two years, however this has been delayed until late 2027 or 2028, Autocar has reported.
The electric estate model was to be part of six EVs set for unveiling in that two year period, including the Elroq C-segment electric SUV that made its debut this week, the Epiq, a productionised Vision 7S concept, and the Enyaq and Enyaq Coupé crossover facelifts.
This estate model that is in the pipeline is said to carry over the Octavia nameplate, which is at present in its fourth generation for the model that is comprised of both notchback and estate bodsystyles.
“With the slowdown of the transformation into battery-electric vehicles, we’re revisiting that [timeline]. We’re checking the sequence of those cars. The cadence now [is] the Enyaq Coupé, the Elroq, the next one is the Epiq, and the next one down the line will be the SUV, [and] the 7S [concept]. After that – it could be 2027, 2028 – we’re aiming for an Octavia estate,” Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told Autocar.
Internal combustion engine-powered models such as the Fabia, Kamiq and Scala were initially earmarked for discontinuation by 2027, however these models have been retained until the end of the decade as electric vehicle sales are seeing a downturn, Zellmer said.
Last month, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has called for a revision of the European Union’s emissions targets for combustion engine-powered cars as sales of BEVs in the region continued to drop as of September.
New car registrations in the European Union dropped by 18.3% in August 2024 and registrations of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) dropped by 43.9% to 92,627 units, down from 165,204 units in the same period last year according to the ACEA. Meanwhile, market share held by BEVs in the region dropped 21% compared to the same month in the previous year, according to the association.
Skoda is sacrificing profit on the new Elroq EV SUV to ensure it is priced competitively, Skoda marketing head Martin Jahn told Autocar, in order for it to attract strong sales and thus help Skoda meet its CO2 emissions targets for 2025.
“I admit that this is not the most profitable car in our line-up, and we just have to work on the costs, especially on the battery costs, to make the electric cars more profitable in the future,” Jahn said.
The lack of variety in EV bodystyles is also a barrier to growing EV sales, Zellmer added. “People always buy cars for the least probable cause they need them for. So they buy a combi [estate] because they were at one point in time… they had to put this huge box of a wardrobe in the car, so now they need a combi again,” he said.
Zellmer also said the range anxiety is ‘totally emotional’ rather than rational. “It’s changing the habits, but people still find it difficult to change their behaviour towards battery-electric vehicles so we need to give people time to be ready for that, and this is why we offer alternatives,” Skoda’s CEO said.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
