Skoda working on sub-£20,000 electric Fabia replacement

2 years, 2 months ago - 31 August 2022, autocar

Car will join four other electric Skoda model before 2030, boss Klaus Zellmer tells Autocar

Skoda is working on an entry-level electric model that will replace the Skoda Fabia, boss Klaus Zellmer has told Autocar.

This new car will also be priced similarly to the Fabia, Zellmer said, which currently retails in the UK at £17,800 in Hatch SE Comfort guise.

Speaking at the launch of the Vision 7S concept car, which will itself hit showrooms in 2026, the Skoda boss said: “The Fabia with its price position will be succeeded by a battery electric vehicle, and we are working on that.”

However, he added: “The biggest challenge at the moment is the cost [of making] battery electric vehicles especially when producing a car [of the size of] the Fabia. We will have to stay a little patient.”

At the launch of the 7S in Prague, it was confirmed that the seven-seat electric SUV will be joined by an urban EV and crossover when it launches, followed by two other electric cars – one of which is expected to be the Fabia replacement. This would tip it for a launch in the last quarter of the decade.

The successor, it is thought, will look radically different to the Fabia when it launches with Skoda’s new design language – previewed as part of the Vision 7S – hinting more at SUV-style bodywork, rather than the Fabia’s city car styling.

It is also expected to use the entry-version of Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture, currently used by models including the Volkswagen ID 3, and be one of the last in the group to use it before the introduction of the new SSP platform.

This would allow the model to focus on city driving, which Zellmer hinted it would be positioned to do. It could also use a much smaller version of the Vision concept’s 89kWh battery, but still take advantage of its rapid 200kW charging rates - a charging speed far quicker than any other mainstream VWG car.

The launch of this car, coupled with the reveal of the Vision 7S concept, means Skoda is pushing its ceiling to appeal to a wider audience, Zellmer said.

“This puts us into a wider spread in terms of customers that we can bring to Skoda,” he added. “We are really trying to increase our footprint.

“Cars like that [the Vision 7S] are potentially more profitable, and of course we are in a business to make money, but that is not the main goal. The main goal is to increase our footprint overall, to cover a bigger potential in the market.”