Volkswagen to build tiny EV SUV

VOLKSWAGEN Group will build four new electric small cars on the new MEB Small platform from 2025, with Cupra, Skoda and VW all set to offer compact EVs.

The new platform – the development of which is under the stewardship of Spanish brand Cupra – will spawn a new small car for that brand, known as Raval, but will also underpin an as-yet unnamed Skoda compact car, and a pair of Volkswagen-branded vehicles, one a hatchback and the other a slightly more muscular crossover SUV.

Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told Australian media at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich that the VW Group will offer a range of compact EVs, and confirmed Skoda’s intent to offer a small, affordable electric car, too, stating the vehicle would be presented to the world in 2025, while also revealing that VW would offer a higher-riding model alongside the ID. 2.

“We call it the category A0 BEV. We haven't revealed the name yet. And there will be basically four siblings in that family. One is the ID2, the ID 2 ‘X’ SUV, and the production Urban Rebel (known as Raval) from Cupra and then our A0 BEV,” he said.

“So it's there. It's coming. It's in development. We had the first clinic results which is a representative mix of consumers looking at the car and they were super smashing, great. I'm quoting what they gave us as feedback. So we're very much looking forward to that car,” he said.

Mr Zellmer said the VW Group knows that shared platforms are vital, but also that the company is mindful of making each brand stand out from the others, with design being the differentiating factor that needs to be, essentially, exaggerated to help each of the distinct models stand apart.

“You know, the cars will be so different. On the same platform, you're gonna see something similar to ID. 4 and Enyaq in terms of how far they sit apart and this is really important for us as a group of brands,” he said.

“We haven't always gotten that right. But I think with the new definition of our design languages, we call our design language, modern solid, I think we’re going to separate it,” said Mr Zellmer.

It won’t only be the unnamed compact EV on the MEB Small platform that the brand will soon offer. There are set to be six new electric models coming, including what is going to essentially be an electric version of the Karoq, known as Elroq.

Mr Zellmer said the company knows there is a lot of appetite for new EV products, and even confirmed that the RS performance line will cross over to the electric vehicle space in the form of an Elroq RS SUV.

“You will see an Elroq RS because it delivers the technical package and the optics and this is what we're doing now,” he said, before clarifying that the RS level of performance for Skoda products will remain less extreme than some other brands and products under the VW Group umbrella.

“Previous to this job I was with the VW brand, and the Golf R, for example, that's too extreme for Skoda. Yeah, we wouldn't go that far,” he said. “But if I take the take-rate of RS models for Kodiaq, Octavia and Superb, it's good money.

“And if I look at the appearance of those cars, they're beautiful. I mean, I drive a Kodiaq RS at the moment. I love the car. I think it's pretty cool. Is it outrageously performing? No. But for me, you know, I think it's got a good balance between the attractiveness in terms of optics and the drivetrain and its performance,” he said.

Skoda has confirmed that in Australia, it will offer its first EV model in 2024 in the form of the Enyaq coupe-style electric SUV. It will be followed by a raft of new EV models, including SUVs and a wagon.

A production version of the brand’s new electric seven-seater concept, the Vision 7S, is expected to be the first of three EVs to come by 2026 as part of €5.6b (A$9.42b) e-mobility investment from the Czech arm of the VW Group.