Skoda will launch "at least" three full-electric cars that will be smaller and cheaper than its Enyaq compact SUV by 2030, the brand's CEO Thomas Schaefer said.
The roll-out of more electric models will mean that by 2030, between 50 percent and 70 percent of the brand's cars sold in Europe will be pure electric "depending on market developments, " Schaefer told journalists during an online presentation on June 24.
Skoda began deliveries of the Enyaq, the brand's first model on parent Volkswagen Group's MEB platform, earlier this year. The brand is also planning a coupe version of the car, although it has not been officially confirmed.
Schaefer did not confirm any details of the three smaller EVs but he did say the brand "needs" an electric version of its Octavia compact car.
"The Octavia is the core of our brand," he said. "This segment is not dead no matter what the propulsion, so yes I think we need an electric Octavia."
The Octavia is Skoda's best-selling model in Europe, accounting for nearly 75,500 of the brand's 278,500 sales through April, according to JATO Dynamics market researchers.
Skoda is unlikely to make an electric car as small as the now discontinued Citigo-e minicar. "I'm not sure it will be as small as the Citigo-e," he said.
Skoda's roll-out of smaller electric cars will depend on VW Group's plans as the automaker works to develop smaller EVs than are currently possible on the MEB platform.
Seat brand is developing a small electric car for VW Group brands with production beginning in 2025.
The car would be about the same size as the Seat Arona small SUV and would cost between 20,000 euros and 25,000 euros ($24,000-$30,000), Seat CEO Wayne Griffiths said during the brand's annual press conference in March. Seat would build versions in Spain for the VW and Skoda brands, and possibly Audi, Griffiths said.
Marketing smaller EVs will be crucial to Skoda's goal to pass Ford and Toyota to be among Europe's top five best-selling brands by 2030. The target is part of Skoda's Strategy 2030 plan and will be achieved by "further strengthening the brand's position in the entry-level segments," Schaefer said.
Skoda is currently Europe's No. 8 brand by unit sales based on 2020 data from industry association ACEA, which counts registrations in the European Union, EFTA and the UK markets.
Schaefer said the brand's home country of the Czech Republic needed to become "an electromobility hub," making its own battery cells.
He gave no definite date for the company to phase out combustion engine cars, citing the company's expansion in countries with no clear electrification plan.
"India could go either way," Schaefer said, giving one example. "It's not credible to name a date."
Schaefer also ruled out hydrogen fuel-cells for Skoda. "It's not for volume brands, it's far too expensive," he said.
