Skoda will have five pure electric models in different sizes and a plug-in version of the flagship Superb in the program by 2025. The Skoda Vision E study, which celebrates its premiere at the Chinese motor show in Shanghai in April and reveals key elements of an as yet unnamed future series model, provides a first taste.
The first Stromer with the Skoda logo should be ready for series production in three and a half years, and four more will follow by 2025. And even this first Czech of its kind, who now dropped the covers behind closed doors, has it all. No sedan like VW, Opel or BMW. Skoda starts with a massive coupe in SUV format. At the moment, the five-door called Vision E is, as usual, a so-called concept study. "But close to series production," says Skoda boss Bernhard Maier, meaning not only essential details of the body dress.
Technically, the 4,65 meter long and still 1,92 meter wide newcomer is a statement that Skoda has never known before: Two electric motors with a total of 225 kW / 306 hp are good for 180 km / h, supply both axles and make the vision E so all-wheel drive. The battery is sufficient for around 500 kilometers according to the applicable standard, says head of development Christian Strube, which in practice could reach 400 kilometers. Charging to 80 percent of the battery capacity takes about 30 minutes on strong power pumps. Values known from Tesla. Of course, the Skoda is also based on the new platform, which is called MEB (Modular Electrification Kit) in the VW Group. With the smaller sedan VW ID and the ID Buzz, a reinterpretation of the famous Bulli, the parent company has now presented two modular studies.
So now Skoda is also allowed to show where it goes in the largest car group in the world. Of course, the Vision E, which is then given a “real” name, will also be able to drive without the driver's intervention. This means that people sit behind the steering wheel, the car relieves them of tasks such as flashing lanes or changing lanes, for example on motorways. After a warning period, however, the driver must take responsibility again. To park, they can get out and use the app to direct their best rolling piece into the gap that the on-board computer has previously found. Of course, there are also various cameras and sensors on board, which always have a virtual eye on what's going on around the car.
The future customer can enjoy all of this in a relaxed atmosphere. Due to the long wheelbase of the Vision E (2,85 meters) and extremely short overhangs at the front and rear, there is more space in the interior than today's cars of the same length can offer. The high seating position as in a conventional SUV ensures perfect all-round visibility, the flat underbody and a short center console end the feeling that the two front passengers are, as it were, “walled in” and ensure an airy interpersonal relationship. Buttons and switches have almost completely disappeared, everything is controlled on a central monitor, which of course also ensures a constant connection to the outside world via the Internet.
It is questionable whether the bold design of the Vision E will make it into the series in this form. The wheels will certainly be a bit smaller than in the study. But the basic features of the body are to be realized in this way: The rather high belt line, which aft forms a kind of rear spoiler under the flat rear window, emphasizes the coupé feeling. Typical Skoda attributes such as the specially styled radiator grille are preserved as a solid sculpture, even if they no longer have a technical function as an air intake for an internal combustion engine. After all, the Skoda of the near future should also be recognizable as such. The same applies to the rear lights, which will continue to shine in the "C" shape.
Of course, Skoda boss Bernhard Maier is not yet revealing which vehicle types will be electrified by the middle of the next decade. It is obvious that there will be a sedan and a station wagon with a large loading compartment, after all, the above-average amount of space has been the great strength of the group's brand with an Eastern past for years.
It remains puzzling why the entry into the electrical world with a plug-in hybrid will only take two years at the big Superb. After all, the technology with two motors (gasoline engine plus electric motor) and a battery that can also be charged at the socket has been around for a long time. A high-ranking Skoda manager also admits this, but explains behind the scenes: "We wait until the batteries are more powerful and thus create a greater electrical range than, for example, today's VW Passat GTE". The Superb with plug-in should be able to travel more than 50 kilometers before the good old petrol engine has to intervene again. (Peter Maahn / SP-X)