Skoda began teasing its new three-row electric SUV last month, which means a debut is probably imminent. But while the marketing team is stirring up some excitement, the Czech company’s engineers are making sure future owners don’t get a dose of the wrong kind of excitement when towing a large trailer.

Related: Skoda Teases Electric Seven-Seat SUV Rival To Kia EV9

SUVs are popular for their high driving position and generous interior space, but many owners buy traditional ICE-powered utilities because even those without body-on-frame construction can make for useful towing vehicles. And if automakers want to present EVs as serious alternatives to combustion vehicles, they need to be be able to haul trailers, boats and caravans, too.

The Towing Potential of EVs

In some ways, EVs make great tow vehicles. They’ve got tons of low end torque, the power delivery is smooth, and brake regeneration can prevent the conventional brakes from ever becoming overloaded. But because they are heavy, their towing capacity is usually lower than that of an equivalent ICE machine.

This new Skoda SUV, a production version of 2022’s Vision 7S concept which could be called the Space, is an electric alternative to the seven-seat combustion-powered Kodiaq. The Kodiaq is built on VW’s MQB Evo platform and in all-wheel drive vRS guise has a maximum towing capacity of 2,500 kg (5,510 lbs). But its electric counterpart rides on the MEB platform, the same one used by the Skoda Enyaq and VW ID.Buzz, and neither of those EVs can legally haul as big a load.

ICE Beats EV For Towing

The dual-motor Enyaq tops out at 1,200 kg (2,650 lbs) for a braked trailer, and Europe’s dual-motor Buzz can tow 1,800 kg (3,970 lbs) when fitted with the smaller 79 kWh battery, or only 1,600 kg (3,530 lbs) with the 86 kWh pack. But one of the Skoda’s key rivals could be Kia’s EV9, and that is rated at an impressive 2,500 kg (5,512 lbs).

In reality, if Skoda’s big EV can pull 1800 kg, that might be enough for many buyers not looking to drag huge boats, caravans and car trailers around. However, they’ll have to accept a sizeable drop in driving range when they’re hooked-up.

Many owners of MEB-platform EVs, including the VW ID.4 and Buzz, have documented their experience with towing in online forums, and according to their results, it’s not unusual to see a 50-60 percent reduction in range when pulling even an 820 kg (1,800 lb) trailer.

A 150-Mile Range?

Skoda claims a maximum range of 334 WLTP miles (537 km) for the AWD Enyaq in optimum weather conditions and when not towing, and the bigger seven-seater in these spy pics could be good for 370 miles (596 km) if it matches the claims for the 7S concept, which had an 89 kWh battery. But you could still be looking at a tow range of less than 150 miles (240 km) unless you keep the speed way down.

Sure, ICE-powered SUVs also take a big mpg and range hit when towing (though usually less than 50 percent), but they don’t have to worry about where to charge, or deal with the fact that unlike petrol stations, charging ones are generally not set up to deal with vehicles towing something behind them. So, would you buy an EV if you knew you wanted to tow things?

Images: Baldauf, Skoda

Skoda had its best financial year ever in 2024 and the Czech company isn’t about to take its foot off the accelerator. On the same day Skoda revealed its record-breaking €2.3 billion ($2.51 bn) profit, it released teaser images of a range-topping electric SUV coming next year.

Sure to be the most expensive Skoda ever, the SUV – potentially called ‘Space’ – is expected to be a production version of the 2022 Vision 7S, a concept that introduced us to the Modern Solid design language that has since made its way onto the new Epiq.

Related: Everything We Know About the Skoda ‘Space’ Electric SUV

But the new model will be much larger than that little SUV, probably around the same size as the current combustion-powered Kodiaq, which is the brand’s biggest, most expensive model. Offering room for seven passengers, the new EV will take on the likes of the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9. 

The three teaser images are darkened shots of the front and rear, plus a close-up of the rear quarter, and don’t reveal the side profile or the grille details. But from what we can see of the hood, rear hatch, D-pillar, and T-shaped front and rear LED lights, it looks very much like an upsized Epiq. We’ve previously spied the SUV on test dressed in full camouflage; we’ve included those pics at the bottom of this post along with a Carscoops rendering suggesting how the SUV could look when it hits the street.

Skoda is expected to rely on the tried-and-tested VW MEB EV platform for the new SUV, and based on previous comments from Skoda, it should measure around 192.9 inches (4.9 meters) long, or 9.8 inches (250 mm) longer than the company’s five-seat Enyaq.

MEB tech would allow Skoda to offer single and dual-motor powertrains to keep the entry price low enough to stay true to the brand’s value ethos – the EV9 lineup also starts with a single-motor, RWD model. The 7S concept promised a WLTP range of 373 miles (600 km), which is far better than the 293 miles (472 km) VW promises for the ID.Buzz, which is based on the same MEB platform.

Skoda delivered 936,600 cars in 2024, up 6.9 percent year-on-year and the arrival of this large electric SUV in 2026 could help push the brand over the million-unit mark for the first time in its history.