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The Skoda Kodiaq PHEV will be the first to arrive locally in the first quarter of next year, while the Superb will follow closely behind.
Electric Cars
Skoda is due to launch its first two plug-in hybrids in Australia during the first few months of 2026 – later than the end-of-2025 initially hinted – the Volkswagen-owned Czech car brand has confirmed.
Skoda Australia has been testing the two models on local soil in recent months, carrying out battery health checks over 30,000km.
Speaking at the launch of the Elroq electric car last week, Skoda Australia’s Head of Marketing and Product, Kieran Merrigan, said the testing has been a success.
“[We're] super confident in these cars. These batteries are holding up really, really well,” he said.
Alongside the Kodiaq and Superb PHEVs, which are said to be capable of an electric-only driving range of up to 120km, Skoda plans to introduce mild-hybrid technology to the Kodiaq and smaller Octavia in Australia in early 2026.
“Mild-hybrid we are working on for Kodiaq, again it will be a similar time [to the PHEV], maybe quarter two [April to June],” Merrigan told media, including Drive.
The hybrid-assisted Skoda models will join the Czech car maker’s two fully-electric vehicles, the Enyaq and Elroq.
The Enyaq Coupe arrived in Australia in late 2024, while the Elroq arrived in dealers in recent weeks. A more conventionally-styled 'wagon' version of the Enyaq SUV is due to launch locally next month.
While Volkswagen Group stablemate Audi has offered several mild-hybrid vehicles in its model range for some time, Skoda – not to mention sibling Volkswagen – have been slower to adopt the tech.
VW now fields the ID.4, ID.5, and ID. Buzz electric vehicles in Australia, as well as plug-in power in the Touareg R large SUV.
Overseas, the Octavia mild-hybrid combines a 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder with a small electric motor, 48-volt battery, and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to assist the engine and trim fuel use.
Plug-in hybrid versions of the Skoda Kodiaq and Superb, meanwhile, use the same 1.5-litre turbo-four, but with a much more powerful electric motor, 19.7kWh battery pack, and six-speed dual-clutch automatic for a combined output of up to 150kW.
Skoda says it is adapting to meet the cooling demand for fully-electric vehicles globally, with Skoda Australia director Lucie Kuhn saying it will carry on producing petrol-engined cars because people keep buying them.
“We expect that in five years, electric cars will make up 40 per cent of new car sales globally,” Kuhn told Drive.
But that also means at the same time that another 60 per cent of customers will be going for combustion engine technologies, including hybrids.
“Still in the world, we will have customers who will simply still keep buying the combustion engines. We will continue to invest in this area while also focusing on low-emission technology.”
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A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
