Skoda commits to invest €5.6 billion in electromobility and €700 million in digitalization as part of its global transformation

The details of the multi-billion dollar global plan were revealed to the world audience by the CEO of Skoda, Klaus Zellmer. During the presentation, Zellmer also unveiled the Skoda Vision 7S concept, a seven-seater crossover along with a commitment to invest €5.6 billion in electric mobility and €700 million in digitalization respectively over the next five years. This huge investment is a big part of accelerating the company’s e-business. Skoda has reaffirmed its commitment to ensure that by 2030, more than 70 percent of electric vehicles will be battery electric vehicles out of total sales.

The presented Vision 7S is built on Volkswagen Group’s special MEB electric platform, which underlies the Czech brand’s all-electric Enyaq IV SUV, the Skoda Enyaq Coupe iV and the VW brand’s ID4 SUV.

The other two battery electric models in the new Skoda family will be a subcompact and a new compact crossover. Skoda CEO Zellmer said the company plans to introduce the new-generation Superb mid-size car and the Kodiaq mid-size SUV next year.

Powered by an 89 kilowatt-hour battery, one of the largest in an MEB model, which the firm says will give it a range of 600km and is capable of charging at speeds of up to 200kW.

The Skoda-VW group currently has a presence in India through its brands including Volkswagen, SKODA, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley in the four-wheeler segment.

In 2018, the VW Group announced an investment of €1 billion between 2019 and 2021 as part of its strategy to expand its presence in the country as part of the India 2.0 project. The company has set a target of capturing 5 percent of the Indian passenger car market by 2025

Speaking earlier about India’s Skoda Enyak, which has already sold 70,000 units worldwide, Piyush Arora, Managing Director, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India said, “The Enyak will join the Skoda Volkswagen family of e-cars, including the Audi e-Tron and the Porsche Taycan. .”

“Expectations that India would move were not very high, but the country has started to show the first signs that it is moving at a much faster pace,” he said

The all-electric Porsche Taycan has a starting price of Rs 1.5 crore, while the Audi e-tron ranges from Rs 99.99 lakh to Rs 1.18 crore.

“The tipping point (from when automakers will develop only electric cars) is still a few years away. We understand that there is a demand for electric cars in India, so we have already launched the Porsche Taycan and the Audi e-Tron, which are doing very well in the Indian market,” Arora said.

On electric mobility, he said, “We have taken a top-down approach with our luxury brands, already launching products in the market. Both Audi and Porsche have very successful electric vehicles in the Indian market.”

Arora said electrification is happening at different levels around the world: Europe has already committed to selling all new zero-emission cars by 2035, while China is moving very quickly

According to SIAM data, passenger car sales in the Indian market stood at 30,69,499 units in 2021-2022 against 27,11,457 units in 2020-21.

Arora said, “Our first task is to consolidate ‘India 2.0’ to make it consistently profitable and capture the desired market share that we have planned… That will be the focus for the next year. .”

However, he added: “We have started to assess the overall opportunities for both ICE and BEV (battery electric vehicles) as a future growth engine. And once we prioritize, given that resources are always limited, you can’t develop or localize all of your products at once. The next round of investment will be based on the products we prioritize.”

Part of its global makeover, the Skoda Vision 7s concept has for the first time shown an integrated rear-facing child seat with a camera pointing to the main infotainment screen.

The company also showed off its new logo as part of its “robust” new design language, which the brand will use on all its new cars in the coming years.

Referring to India, Arora says the Indian electrical component supplier ecosystem is evolving and will take some time to mature: “You also have to focus on the ICE market and your resources are ultimately limited.”

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