Long the darling of the Volkswagen Group in many ways, Škoda continues to perform exceedingly well in almost every market. With one terrible exception. The parent company will likely pull the brand from China in 2025 so dreadful has its sales performance become over multiple years now.
Europe-wide, Škoda just keeps on keeping on, delivering ever better margins and volumes, beating even Audi. Acea data show the Czech brand ahead of the luxury marque by more than 55,000 cars for the year to the end of September. Much of this comes from the German market, where the Octavia estate and hatchback (facelifted this year) are big sellers but the many SUVs now offered are also in high demand. And more are coming.
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Many SUVs but a car is still easily the best seller worldwide
With build of the Superb shifted out of Kvasiny and into Bratislava, the Czech plant gained Octavia build in August, supporting production at Mladá Boleslav, the main site. This has turned out to be smart planning as sales of the smaller model have really taken off in 2024. AWD variants will be added in 2025 though the company did not explain why these were not part of the facelifted range at launch. The successor is due in 2027.
Now, this very month, a new Škoda enters production but in this case, the region is Asia rather than Europe: build of the yet-to-be-revealed Kylaq is getting underway in Chakan, a Volkswagen-Škoda factory. The Indian plant is the only site making this new SUV, all variants powered by a turbocharged 1.0-litre engine. An eight-year life cycle is believed to be the plan.
October is proving to be a busy time for the brand, the Elroq having been revealed a few weeks back. This electric-only and 4,888 mm long SUV is therefore bigger than the Karoq and forthcoming Epiq. One odd novelty which will inevitably be promoted as a so-called ‘Simply Clever’ feature is charging cable storage in a net below the parcel shelf. But why would any owner would want to cause sagging/breakage from stashing a heavy, bulky, dirty/damp lead there?
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By GlobalDataWinged arrow logo vanishes – sort of
Something else new with the Elroq is the word S K O D A on the bonnet edge, tailgate and steering wheel. The logo does however make an appearance still but only in each wheel-centre. A range of as many as 560+ kilometres (350 miles) from the best variant is claimed. The launch variants will be:
- 50 (55/52 kWh gross/net), 125 kW (170 PS), RWD
- 60 (63/59), 150 kW (204 PS), RWD
- 85 (82/77), 210 kW (285 PS), RWD
- 85x (82/77), 220 kW (300 PS), AWD & two motors
- Other variants will be added in due course, and the mid-cycle facelift would be scheduled for late 2028, with a second generation following in 2032.
Next year there will be a couple of facelifts for models aimed primarily at buyers in the Indian market, these being the Slavia and Kushaq. The big news though, is the arrival of the Kylaq (see image above). Less than four metres long, this SUV is soon to lose its camouflage. It goes on sale in March, entering a size class which accounts for almost one third of the local market.
The platform employed for the Kylaq is a specially shortened version of MQB A0 IN (internal code is MQB A0 27), the original architecture being the basis for the existing Kushaq and Slavia along with the Volkswagens Virtus and Taigun. Six-speed manual and torque converter transmissions will be offered, linked to a standard three-cylinder petrol engine.
Elroq replaces Karoq?
Meanwhile, also in 2025 and back in Europe, the Karoq will come to the end of its life cycle. Even though it is 10 cm longer and electric, the Elroq is more or less the replacement. It will be supplemented by the Epiq, a 4.1 m long plug-in SUV, which, like the future Cupra Raval, is based on MEB Entry, a new platform. The little EV should debut towards the end of 2025.
In 2026, though it may now instead be 2027, attention returns to India, with the expected debut of the first electric model specifically developed for that country. The name is not yet known, only the platform code: CMP 21. Chakan will be the manufacturing plant with exports planned. An equivalent Volkswagen will also be built at the same Maharashtra production base.
The China Main Platform 21 models had been due to be based on another architecture, MEB 21G, but it is now understood that this project was shelved. The new base will be adapted from this special Chinese market components matrix.
Also in 2027 and around the same time that the e-SUV for India appears, Škoda will be extending the lifecycles of three European-made models: Kamiq, Fabia and Scale. Each is to have a second facelift, the hope being that they will remain appealing until around 2030, with eventual electric successors to take over.
Vision S heralded yet another SUV
Again, in three years’ time, there will be a new big SUV. There is as yet no official name but it should feature some of the looks from the Vision 7S concept.
Come late 2027 or early 2028, the next Octavia arrives. This might well be the first electric version in the long history of the model. Some even believe the hatchback will not be replaced, or might even remain being built and sold concurrently with an EV estate.
Also in 2028, the second generation Enyaq is likely to appear. SSP would be the platform and Mladá Boleslav the plant. Will the Enyaq Coupé be replaced though? Some also say this project is being delayed until 2029. It might be the case that 2030 is a relatively quiet year but then in 2031, a third generation Kodiaq will be shown with an Elroq successor debuting in the fourth quarter, following in 2032. This is also when the next Superb is due to enter production, along with the Kodiaq, also an EV.
