► Lowdown on new Skoda Octavia EV
► New battery-powered estate due at IAA
► Tech stack flips from MEB to SSP platform
The next Skoda Octavia will spawn an electric version, suggesting that Skoda is entering a new era of EVs merging with mainstream models. Previously, Skoda has preferred to launch standalone electric models like the Elroq and Enyaq to mirror combustion equivalents.
CEO Klaus Zellmer told CAR magazine the Czech company will unveil an electric Octavia estate at this autumn’s IAA motor show in Munich. It will be a concept car, but expect the tech showcase to give a very clear indication of the direction of travel.
‘We need a BEV [battery electric vehicle] version of Octavia,’ he said. ‘Expect a precursor at the September IAA Munich show – we will have a concept car there which gives an indication of what the new design language will be for that car. The Octavia is really important for us.’
It remains the company’s most popular model worldwide, notching up 215,700 sales in 2024, an impressive rise of +12% – helping leapfrog Skoda from seventh- to fourth-bestselling brand in Europe.
Why Skoda is planning electric versions of its core models
Skoda showed this jellymould image of its future electric estate car (above) in 2023. When asked if an electric Octavia concept meant that Skoda was now merging its electric and combustion vehicles, the chief executive refused to commit. ‘I don’t want to give too much insight into that… wait and see in September! Then we will show you the full potential and technical package that we envision. It will be a concept car, so it is a testbed for us to see what the resonance is from the media, our dealers and our potential customers and consumers.’
Having an electric Octavia suggests that Skoda has reached that switchover point, where standalone models are branched back into the mainstream range – a bit like how parent company Volkswagen is preparing to re-integrate its ID range back into the historic portfolio. ‘All technologies in one car?’ mused Zellmer. ‘Let’s see…’
What to expect from an electric Skoda Octavia
The big news is that the CEO revealed the upcoming Skoda Octavia EV would not use the established MEB hardware, like most volume Volkswagen group products today, but instead the very latest Scalable Systems Platform (SSP). This is the architecture which will also underpin the next-gen electric VW Golf.
‘In our original line-up two and a half years ago the Octavia Combi [estate] was included as a battery electric vehicle. But we have decided not to bring that car on the MEB platform – the one that the Skoda Elroq, Enyaq and Epiq are on – but on SSP. The new platform will bring more performance and more cost efficiency. It will be the platform we’ll put the Octavia Combi on as a battery electric vehicle.’
Our artist’s impression by Andrei Avarvarii builds on the earlier jellymould images of the new Skoda electric estate – revealing a fresh aesthetic for the workhorse of the Skoda range. Expect an abundance of the Simply Clever practical touches for which the Czech brand has become famous, with a host of luggage handling solutions and little details designed to make everyday life that bit simpler.