The Czech VW subsidiary Skoda wants to enter the affordable segment of entry-level electric models with a new, fully electric small car. The vehicle, called Epiq, will cost around 25,000 euros and will have its world premiere next year, the car manufacturer from Mlada Boleslav announced on Friday.
The small car will have an engine power of 100 to 150 kW, be suitable for Vehicle-To-Load (V2L) and Vehicle-To-Grid (V2G) and will be built in Pamplona (Spain).
The design will look completely different from the VW model ID.2all, which is also planned for 25,000 euros, Skoda boss Klaus Zellmer told journalists in Prague. The vehicle with a raised SUV look will be 4.1 meters long and has a trunk with a capacity of up to 490 liters. “It is spacious, but very compact on the outside,” says the 56-year-old.
The VW ID.2, based on the same electric platform, is built as an electric alternative to the VW Polo as a classic small car. The third model with the same technology from the VW Group will be Cupras Raval.
This week, VW announced a slightly smaller electric car for 2027. The VW ID.1 should cost 20,000 euros. The small electric car could be built in collaboration with Renault to save costs. The French also want to market the Renault 5, which costs about 25,000 euros, as an electric car this year.
Skoda boss Zellmer is not afraid of cheaper Chinese competition in the field of battery cars. “We are ready for the competition,” says the car manager. They offer good value for money and can rely on their dealer network. It is not a new situation, as Japanese and Korean car manufacturers have already reached the European market in the past.
A few months ago, Volkswagen decided not to build a new battery factory in the Czech Republic for the time being. The possible location near Pilsen (Plzen) will now continue to serve as a reserve airfield for the Czech army. It would have been VW’s fourth so-called Gigafactory, after Salzgitter, Valencia and St. Thomas in Canada.
Zellmer justified the decision by saying that the transformation process towards e-mobility in Europe is progressing more slowly than expected a year or two ago. But the plans are not off the table yet: “We will resume this discussion, but it will not be Pilsen, we will have to look for another building.”
SubscribeLast year, Skoda said it delivered 866,800 vehicles worldwide. That was an increase of 18.5 percent compared to 2022 – despite the withdrawal from Russia due to the war in Ukraine. The operating result increased from 628 million euros in 2022 to more than 1.7 billion euros. The return on turnover was 6.7 percent, more than twice as high as the year before.
(oli/sda/awp/dpa)
Source: Watson
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
