The new Skoda Elroq electric SUV – which launches in Australia later this week – is a game-changer for the Czech brand, says the automaker’s global CEO Klaus Zellmer, and its design will be carried across to future models including a Toyota Kluger-sized flagship electric SUV due in 2026.
Speaking to British publication Auto Express, Mr Zellmer said the Elroq – which is smaller and cheaper than Skoda’s first electric vehicle (EV), the Enyaq launched in 2021, but will also be officially classed as a mid-size SUV – is the first example of a new design direction for the Volkswagen Group brand.
“The tipping point in our design language is the introduction of Elroq, then the electric cars to come,” Mr Zellmer told Auto Express.
Aimed at smaller electric SUVs like the BYD Atto 3 and Kia EV3, as well as the top-selling Tesla Model Y, the Elroq will be available here in two rear-wheel drive model variants following its local launch this week.
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The 85 Select entry version will be priced from $54,990 before on-road costs (or $59,990 drive-away), while the 130 Edition – commemorating the Czech brand’s 130th anniversary – will cost $64,990 plus on-roads or $69,990 drive-away. The Enyaq currently starts at $69,990 plus on-roads.
Both variants employ a single rear-axle mounted electric motor producing 210kW of power and 545Nm of torque, powered by an 82kWh battery offering a claimed WLTP range of 529km.
DC fast-charging is possible up to 135kW, via which an 80 per cent charge is claimed to take 28 minutes, while the official 0-100km/h acceleration time is 6.6 seconds.
Hotter versions, including a performance-focussed dual-motor all-wheel drive Elroq RS along the same lines as the EnyaqRS shown in April, are expected to join the local lineup down the track, but are yet to be confirmed.
Mr Zellmer said the Elroq marks the start of the new direction for the brand, which will soon launch the Skoda Epiq – a smaller and more affordable electric SUV to rival the Cupra Raval and Volkswagen ID.2.
According to another British publication, Autocar, the Epiq will be the first Skoda to carry the automaker’s new design language into the interior as well.
This means it will also appear on the Czech brand’s new flagship electric SUV, which will be revealed in the second half of 2026 as an EV alternative to the second-generation Skoda Kodiaq, which landed in Australia in March 2025.
“It’s a seven-seater with the working title SpaceBEV,” Mr Zellmer told Auto Express.
“I’m proud that the car very much resembles theVision 7S concept. We have not lost a lot on the way [from concept to production, but] of course we don’t have the suicide doors!
“That car totally embraces the new design language and our aspiration for a flagship Skoda, one that’s still very functional but also totally timeless.”
Skoda will soon preview the next generation of its most popular model, the Octavia, via the Vision O Concept that will present the brand’s ‘modern solid’ design language in full at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich next month, ahead of the production version’s release in 2027.
Mr Zellmer said he is looking for the brand to return to selling more than one million vehicles globally per annum, having sold 926,657 last year – including just over 5000 in Australia.
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