Skoda unveiled its first full-electric car, a version of its Citigo minicar.
The EV is badged Citigo-e iV and has a range of 250 km (165 miles) from its 37 kilowatt-hour battery, as measured on Europe's WLTP test cycle.
The Citigo-e has an 81-hp electric motor and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62mph) in 12.5 seconds. Top speed is 130 kph (81mph).
The car is available with a CCS (Combined Charging System) cable that when plugged into a 40 kW fast charger will replenish the battery to 80 percent of charge in one hour, Skoda said.
A body colored front grille differentiates the five-door car from the gasoline-powered versions. Production will start in the second half of the year Skoda said without being specific. The Citigo-e will be built at VW's plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, where the similar VW E-Up electric minicar is produced.
The Citigo-e will start around 17,000 euros, Autocar magazine reported. Skoda didn't give an official price.
Skoda has promised to launch more than 10 electrified cars by the end of 2022, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid models. The brand's goal is for quarter of all its sales by 2025 to be electrified.
Kerrigan Advisors’ proprietary annual OEM Survey of over 100 executives reveals that the majority of respondents are worried about the financial impact of Chinese automakers’ growing global market share, and most expect that the EV transition to be slower than expected. The survey also queried executives on their outlooks for dealership valuations and profitability, as well as their expectations for the future of dealer networks and facility requirements.
The Citigo-e is the first of five full-electric cars Skoda plans to launch by 2025.
The second will be the production version of the Vision iV crossover concept, shown at the Geneva auto show this year, which Skoda will build on the VW Group's new MEB electric platform at its plant in Mlada Boleslav.
Superb plug-in hybrid
Separately, Skoda showed off its first plug-in hybrid, which will form part of the facelifted Superb midsize range when it goes on sale early next year.
The Superb plug-in hybrid uses a 13 kWh battery to give an electric-only range of up 55 km, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions to below 40 g/km as measured on the WLTP cycle. It has a 154-hp, 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine and a 114-hp electric motor to give a combined output of 214 hp (the electric and gasoline engine do not make their peak power at the same time).
The Superb plug-in hybrid will use the iV badge in line with Skoda's other electrified cars. It will be available as an engine variant with different trim levels, rather than becoming a standalone trim variant which was VW's strategy with the standalone Passat GTE plug-in hybrid.
The battery and associated systems decrease the size of the Superb's trunk space to 485 liters from 625 liters in the hatchback and to 510 liters from 660 liters in the wagon version. The fuel tank also shrinks from 66 liters to 50 liters.
No price was given for the model.
