3 days ago
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Plug-in hybrid power has finally been locked in for Australian Skoda showrooms, alongside mild-hybrid cars promised to trim fuel consumption.
Skoda is finally set to capitalise on booming demand for hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars in Australia with new electrified vehicles due to roll out from later this year.
The Volkswagen-owned Czech car maker has confirmed plans to introduce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to its showrooms this year, claimed to be capable of up to 120km of electric-only driving.
They will be joined by mild-hybrids, which can't drive their wheels on electric power alone – unlike a Toyota hybrid – but use a small electric motor to assist the engine under load, or turn it off when the car is coasting, to trim fuel use.
PHEV power is in discussion for the Kodiaq large SUV and Superb large sedan/wagon, while mild-hybrid tech is most likely for the mid-size Octavia – with the Kodiaq and smaller Karoq SUV also on the cards but less certain, the brand says.
Skoda is yet to confirm precise arrival timing, and how much of a price premium they will command over conventional petrol models.
Lucie Kuhn, the newly-appointed director of Skoda Australia, told Drive work is underway on the hybrid rollout.
“We are right now working on it. Currently, we are in negotiation to get the mild hybrids to the market, which seems to be the easier part of the job, so to say.
“And PHEVs look also quite positive, I must say. And it seems that we should be able to bring these cars to the market by the end of this year.”
The roll-out of PHEVs represents a change in strategy for Skoda compared to its stance 12 months ago, as the growth in electric vehicle sales has cooled.
Car brands are increasingly needing to sell to general consumers – rather than early adopters – who are more concerned with prices, driving range and the availability of charging stations.
Kuhn – a European Skoda veteran who started in her new Australian position six weeks ago – acknowledged a lack of hybrids contributed to the 37 per cent decline in the brand’s local sales last year.
“Demand of the market,” she said when asked what prompted Skoda’s sudden increase in interest in PHEVs.
“I think this was also one of the reasons why we, maybe, in the last year lost the [sales] momentum.
“The product portfolio was relatively aged, but we were also missing the technology. And if we had this technology, I think the drop probably wouldn't be so strong.
“Hybrids are something the customers obviously expect and require.
“It's a bridging technology towards the electrics that actually makes the customer maybe feel [like they’re] living a more sustainable lifestyle, more ecological, but at the same time, still avoiding these concerns they have linked to the [fully] electrical products.”
Depending on when the Octavia arrives, Skoda will become the first or second ‘mainstream’ Volkswagen Group brand to offer mild-hybrids in Australia, as Cupra is due to launch the technology locally later this year.
Audi has fielded MHEVs for some time, while Volkswagen does not sell one at all.
Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids are offered by every other VW Group brand in Australia, from Volkswagen to Lamborghini.
In Europe, the Octavia mild-hybrid combines a 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a small electric motor, 48-volt battery, and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The electric motor cannot drive the wheels on its own, but it can assist the engine "with a surge of electric power" or allow the car to coast with the engine turned off.
A high-grade wagon variant claims fuel consumption under stringent European lab testing of 5.0 to 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres – less than the 5.8L/100km a non-hybrid 1.4-litre turbo model claims in Australia under more lenient test protocols.
If the cars were tested under the same protocols, the gap in fuel consumption would likely be larger.
Plug-in hybrid versions of the Skoda Kodiaq and Superb use the same 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder matched with an electric motor, 19.7kWh (usable) battery and six-speed dual-clutch auto for a system output of 150kW.
It claims up to about 125km of electric-only driving range in the Kodiaq, and about 135km in the Superb, with the battery capable of a 10 to 80 per cent recharge in 25 minutes thanks to 50kW DC fast charging.
The same drivetrain is available in the updated Cupra Leon and Formentor, due in Australia later this year, but with a higher power output of 200kW.
Skoda’s first plug-in hybrids for local showrooms will not arrive in time to allow customers purchasing through a novated lease to access an exemption from Fringe Benefits Tax, which ends for PHEVs next week (April 1).
It can deliver significant tax savings; in some cases, customers can purchase a pure petrol car for the same monthly or weekly cost as a PHEV with a showroom RRP to up 50 per cent higher.
The Czech brand says it believes its technology is good enough to find traction without a tax break.
“Our next-generation Volkswagen Group technology has 100 kilometres of [electric] range. I think we will be able to stand up on our own two feet with that,” Skoda Australia spokesman Daniel DeGasperi told Drive.
“And obviously, from a Group perspective, Cupra will lead that way as the progressive brand with PHEV. But the same applies to Kodiaq in that a really strong PHEV product exists.”
The Kodiaq plug-in hybrid is also only available with five seats, due to the location of its battery pack and fuel tank.
Asked if it was a concern for Australia – where all Kodiaqs sold are seven-seaters – Kuhn said: “It is, but it's a technical obstacle we just can't [get around].”
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
