Attack on e-308 and Astra Electric
At Skoda, the news for the coming years is sloshing against the plinths. The brand is coming with a series of updated models and is also preparing a large-scale EV offensive. An important achievement will be an electric station wagon that could just lure ID7 customers out of the Volkswagen showroom.
Highlights
- Same size as Octavia Combi, but much more spacious
- Shooting e-308 SW and Astra Electric Sports Tourer
- Inexpensive (but smaller) alternative to ID7 Variant
Skoda’s development rooms are overflowing. After the facelifted Scala and Kamiq, the completely renewed Superb and Kodiaq will appear later this year. In addition, the management in Mladá Boleslav does not forget to expand the current limited EV range, which currently consists of the Enyaq iV and Enyaq iV Coupé. Until 2026, Skoda will launch no fewer than six new or modified electric models. You already know only two of them. It is a facelift of the aforementioned Enyaq iV duo. That pair gets Skoda’s new design language, which it introduced last year on the Vision 7S study model, poured over them. The four fully electric newcomers each operate in a different segment. There will be an electric SUV with seven seats that you can see as a more spacious and electric alternative to the Kodiaq. The smaller Karoq also gets a purely electrically powered equivalent for which the Czechs have registered the model name Elroq. The most important newcomer is immediately the smallest. Skoda comes with a relatively compact, electric crossover that has to compete with the Peugeot e-2008 and the yet to be launched crossover brother of the Volkswagen ID.2. The Czechs will earn higher profit margins in the coming years with a brand new EV in a form that will warm Europeans in particular: a station wagon.
Obliged to his position
Skoda has been fully embracing the station wagon for several decades. The Favorit and its successors Felicia and Fabia were all there as price-technically attractive space giants and the Octavia has always been there as a wagon. Yes, also the very first Octavia that was introduced in 1959. From the second Superb that Skoda launched under the flag of the Volkswagen Group, the Czech flagship was available with an extra large luggage compartment. This long-standing tradition does not die in the battle for the EV customer. After all, Skoda has officially confirmed that it will launch an electric wagon before 2026. That seems like a smart move. The MG 5 Electric was the first electric station wagon on the Dutch market, followed by Peugeot and Opel with the e-308 SW and the Astra Electric Sports Tourer. And Skoda’s group colleague Volkswagen is currently working hard on the development of a Variant of the electric ID7. The electric Combi from Skoda will be a size smaller, but undoubtedly much less expensive. Simply Clever in the EV era.
(Illustration: Larson)
The electric Skoda Combi will soon be about 4.7 meters long, which means that it can be compared to the Octavia Combi in terms of size. As far as is known, the manufacturer is not yet working on an electric Superb or Superb Combi and Volkswagen in turn does not yet have an electric ID3 Variant in development. That will make Skoda’s electric pack mule the only alternative to the ID7 Variant within the Volkswagen Group. Yes, the ID7 will be longer and more spacious at 4.96 m, but don’t underestimate how much you can store in the plugged-in station Skoda. The Octavia Combi already swallows 640 liters and even enjoys 1,700 liters with the rear seats folded down. Thanks to a longer wheelbase and a completely different platform developed purely for EVs, you can undoubtedly store much more in the electric equivalent of that Octavia Combi. So much so that you may wonder who actually needs a Volkswagen ID7 Variant. Especially if the Skoda will soon receive a considerably friendlier price tag than its German group colleague.
Towards 700 kilometers range
Under the skin, the officially as yet unnamed electric station wagon from Skoda shows similarities with its more expensive Volkswagen cousin. After all, both models use the same MEB parts warehouse. So don’t be surprised if the Skoda also gets the 86-kWh battery pack that will be in the ID7. That would be good news, because the fast charger can be used to fill that package with 200 kW of power. Count on a range of around 700 kilometers for that variant of the Combi. And also count on the arrival of versions with a 77-kWh battery and a range of more than 600 kilometers. Not exactly wrong either.
The arrival of this electric Combi does not herald the end of the Octavia. It will go under the knife next year and then it will certainly last a few more years. Skoda will soon carry the electric Combi in addition. In view of the now established Octavia model name, we would not be surprised if Skoda were to tie the electric Combi to the Octavia technically, but the crystal ball is unfortunately still a bit too cloudy to say that with great certainty. We eagerly await developments!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl