Skoda is rethinking its launch schedule for new electric models over the coming years

Skoda has adjusted its plans for launching new electric models due to the slowdown in sales of this type of vehicle. As a consequence, the Czech manufacturer recently announced that the electric version of a new family model, initially planned for 2026, will be postponed until 2027 or even 2028.

In statements to the media, Klaus Zellmer, the current head of Skoda, addressed this decision, asserting that it is due to the company’s new, more cautious strategy for tackling the transition to electric mobility, which has led them to reconsider the sequence of new model launches.

The original plan, revealed by the company in April 2023, included presenting the compact SUV Elroq in 2024, followed by updated versions of the Enyaq iV and the Enyaq iV Coupé, as well as the launch of the city car Epiq with a starting price of around 25 thousand euros by 2025. In 2026, a spacious family model and a seven-seat SUV based on the Vision 7S concept were planned, all of them electric. However, Zellmer has confirmed that although the seven-seat SUV remains on the agenda for 2026, the family model will be delayed by at least a year.

Current demand drives the decision

In his meeting with the media, the head of Skoda made it clear that they will prioritise the launch of the seven-seat SUV over the family model, since this is the type of vehicle customers are demanding right now. He also referred to the fear that some drivers still have about not having sufficient range with electric models. A concern he considers entirely unfounded today and more emotional than rational.

Finally, it should be noted that this reassessment of the Czech manufacturer’s model launch agenda does not affect only its electric models, but also those with combustion engines, though in the opposite direction. Thus, Skoda had planned to discontinue the Fabia, the Kamiq and the Scala in 2027, but now has decided to keep them in production until the end of the decade, so that it can continue to offer its customers alternatives to electric models.