2019 Skoda Superb to be the company’s first plug-in hybrid – report
The new Skoda Superb is expected to be the first electrified model from the Czech manufacturer, which will be followed by a range of Volkswagen Group plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery-electric (BEV) models over the next ten years.
Skoda is understood to be planning a plug-in hybrid variant of the Superb for 2019, which will make it the first PHEV of any type from the brand, followed by its first fully electric vehicle (EV) a few years later.
The Superb PHEV is likely to utilise a version of the hybrid drivetrain used in the VisionS concept, which was shown at the 2016 Geneva motor show, itself a development of the technology used in Volkswagen’s GTE models and Audi’s A3 e-tron. All share the same VW MQB platform as the Superb.
The new Superb PHEV will have an electric range of 50 kilometres and should be available by the end of the decade.
Christian Strube, Skoda Board member for Technical development said that the company is “convinced that it is time for Skoda to become electric”.
The Superb PHEV will also be the first of 20 new Volkswagen Group plug-ins launched by 2020.
According to British website Autocar, Skoda’s first fully-electric vehicle is planned to launch in 2020 or 2021.
The new model will reportedly be a variant of the VW Group’s all-new ‘MEB’ battery-electric platform, with a target range of at least 300 miles (over 480 kilometres) and 15-minute charging time, at a comparative price to an equivalent combustion-engined vehicle.
The MEB architecture is being developed especially for EVs and was first previewed by the Volkswagen Budd-e concept at the Las Vegas consumer electronics show (CES) in January.
The MEB platform will underpin numerous VW Group models such as the first fully-electric Audi and Porsche models and a VW Phaeton EV.
The VW Group will also launch a line-up of new models based on its new ‘electric toolkit’, which is a standardised set of drivetrain components which helps PHEVs to have a higher electric range and enables an EV to have a range of around 290 kilometres.
Skoda’s first foray into electrified mobility has been a long time coming, with the manufacturer first previewing a fully-electric version of the Octavia medium car at the 2010 Paris motor show.
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