For the last five years Skoda’s “Icons Get A Makeover” series has been a great way for the brand’s designers to let their imaginations run a little bit wild, and the latest two-wheeled concept is about as far removed from a sensible family SUV as you can get.

The story of Skoda-branded cars goes back to the 1920s, but the company’s roots go back further still, to the final years of the 19th century when Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement began building bicycles, and then motorcycles, starting with the 1899 Slavia B.

Related: Skoda Recreates Czechoslovakia’s Favorite Transporter For The 21st Century

And it’s the Slavia B that’s the icon in line for the makeover treatment this month. Skoda hasn’t built a motorcycle for over a hundred years but the company’s French designer Romain Bucaille has imagined what a modern bike would look like if it followed the rules of Skoda’s latest Modern Solid design language.

“I wanted to do something unique and go back to the brand’s roots,” said Bucaille, who studied mechanical engineering before switching to design. “I work on cars every day, and since I also love motorcycles, creating one was really a refreshing change.”

At first glance it doesn’t look like the old and new bikes have much in common at all. Bucaille opted for a sporty cafe racer look for his creation with low bars and a seat that floats above the rear wheel. And unlike the original Slavia B, which got a 240 cc air-cooled, single-cylinder engine that pumped out a whopping 1.7 hp (1.75 PS) for a top speed of 25 mph (40 km/h), the modern bike would be electricn and definitely much faster.

Nevertheless, Bucaille retained the split-frame design whose front section is V-shaped referencing the háček, the diacritical mark atop the Czech letter Š in Skoda’s official spelling of its name, and a squiggle that’s become a grille motif and the v before RS in its performance cars. The designer also fitted a tool bag inside the frame (something essential in the pioneering days of motorcycles when maintenance might be required en-route) and finished it in the same leather as the seat.

We love the look of this retro-futuristic Slavia B but sadly, like the other icons reimagined by Skoda’s designers in this series, the concept will remain just that.

Images: Skoda

Party hats were compulsory headgear at VW’s Zwickau plant in eastern Germany this week. The factory produces six different EVs for various VW Group brands and just built its millionth electric car, an ID.3 GTX hot hatch. But Zwickau’s busy production lines are causing a headache for the bean counters at VW’s Wolfsburg HQ.

The problem is that EVs are expensive to build and deliver smaller margins than equivalent combustion-powered cars. And while electric sales doubling in Europe in the first quarter of 2025 is something to celebrate, some of those sales come at the expense of ICE sales.

Related: VW ID.2 Might Have A Shot In America, But ID.1 Is ‘Highly Unlikely’

As EVs take up a greater proportion of the sales mix – they accounted for one in five VW Group cars in Jan-March – they push profitability down, reducing the margin to 4 percent. And the withdrawal of EV subsidies in many European countries means VW can’t lean on government incentives to allow them to charge more.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the VW ID.2 and its various spinoffs and related EVs. The €25k ($28k) ID.2, which will be built in Spain, goes on sale in 2026 and should be one of the first Western-built EVs to return margins close to an ICE car’s. The baby VW and its sister SUV, plus the Cupra Raval and Skoda Epiq use a new front-wheel drive version of the MEB platform that costs less to produce.

Earlier this month VW revealed that earnings before tax were down 40 percent to €3.1 billion ($3.5 bn) in Q1 even as deliveries increased by 1.4 percent. The company’s finance chief Arno Antlitz partly attributes this to EVs taking a bigger slice of the sales pie.

But President Trump’s tariffs threaten to throw an even bigger spanner in the VW Group’s plans. The constantly-changing US import tariff situation is making it harder for automaker to make financial forecasts for the rest of the year, but VW, which is badly exposed due to Audi and Porsche’s lack of US production sites, has already downgraded primed investors to expect a less successful year than previously anticipated.

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

Tesla’s sales sank alarmingly in Q1, falling 13 percent to 337,000, a fact that on its own would be enough to make Volkswagen’s German execs crack a wry smile. But what they’ll really have them bro-hugging in Wolfsburg is knowing that Tesla’s misfortune is almost certainly linked to VW posting record EV sales figures over the same period.

Related: Tesla’s European Sales Have Collapsed, Down 45% As EV Market Surges 31%

Sales of fully-electric VW Group vehicles jumped 59 percent in the first three months of the year, reaching 216,800 compared with 136,400 in Q1 2024. By comparison, Tesla reported 336,681 deliveries in the same period, down 13 percent from last year. But even that success is dwarfed by what happened in Europe.

EV Momentum in Europe

EV sales there exploded by 113 percent to 158,100, up from just 74,400 a year earlier, no doubt helped by widespread dislike of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, particularly in Germany, where Musk came out in support of the far-right AfD party. A poll last month found 94 percent of Germans wouldn’t buy a Tesla due to the CEO’s antics. That sentiment appears to be hitting where it hurts: in Q1, Tesla’s sales in Germany plummeted 62 percent compared to the same period last year.

Strong Gains in the US, Trouble in China

US sales also grew significantly, Americans taking home 19,900 EVs, representing a 51 percent increase. But there was bad news from China where EV sales plummeted 37 percent to 25,900 units. And although the global EV sales result is definitely worth celebrating, it ought to be viewed in the context of the sales of vehicles of all power types.

VW GROUP EV SALES

That number did improve, but only by 1.4 percent to 2.13 million units, the decline in demand for combustion cars offset by both the surge in demand for EVs and a 15 percent uptick in PHEV sales. Overall sales in China were down 7 percent, the only region to see a fall.

VW’s Top-Selling EVs

VW’s best-selling EV globally was the ID.4/ID.5, which racked up 43,700 sales, followed by the ID.3 hatch with 28,100 deliveries. Audi’s Q4 e-tron – a reskinned ID.4 – placed third with 22,800 sales, the Skoda Enyaq found 20,200 buyers and VW’s ID.7 scored 19,100 sales.

Porsche’s Macan Electric only ranked seventh with 14,200 sales but since it wasn’t on sale in Q1 2024 its appearance in this year’s Q1 helped Porsche’s EV deliveries jump by 326 percent.

EV SALES BY BRAND

When Skoda revealed its Elroq electric SUV last October, it omitted to tell us anything about the version enthusiasts really care about, the Elroq vRS. But today we got to see the hot Skoda inside and out, and find out that it’s the company’s fastest-accelerating production car ever.

Base Elroqs come with a range of single-motor, rear-drive powertrains that top out at 282 hp (286 PS / 210 kW), though a dual-motor Elroq 85x is planned. But the vRS earns its three letters by adopting the 335 hp (340 PS / 250 kW) dual-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain from sister brand VW’s ID.4, which rides on the same MEB architecture.

Related: Skoda’s New Elroq EV Aims For The Mainstream Sweet Spot

A zero to 62 mph (100 kmh) time of 5.4 seconds makes the Elroq vRS a tenth faster than its Enyaq vRS big brother, previously the brand’s fastest model. The petrol-powered 261 hp (265 PS) Octavia vRS and Kodiaq vRS are much slower, both needing 6.4 seconds to hit the same marker, while the most potent non-RS Elroq takes 6.6 seconds.

A mid-five sprint time isn’t particularly mind-bending for a modern performance EV, but it’s enough to let you tease hot hatches like the Honda Civic Type R from the lights. Don’t expect to hang with the Honda when the road gets twisty, though, with its revised steering, bigger brakes, available DCC adaptive shocks, and stiffer suspension that’s dropped 15 mm at the front and 10 mm at the back, the vRS ought to be more fun than the RWD Elroq 85.

Visual upgrades include sporty black accents on the mirror caps, badges, and window trim, and wheels measuring up to 21 inches across. But even if pedestrians don’t notice them as you glide by, they might notice the synthesised soundtrack. Inside, you get Suedia microfibre upholstery with lime green contrast stitching, carbon-effect trim, a perforated-leather steering wheel and sport seats with an optional massage function.

If there’s a downside to all this vRS fun, it’s the inevitable reduction in driving range all performance EVs suffer from versus their slower stablemates using the same battery. In the Elroq’s case, the battery has a 79 kWh net capacity and a range of 340 miles (547 km)  – not bad, but a non-vRS Elroq Edition 85 stretches a charge another 20 miles (32 km), admittedly helped by having only one motor to lug around.

To make amends, the vRS gets a charging speed upgrade. Depending on the model, the Elroq charges at 145, 165, or 175 kW, but the vRS can chow down on 185 kW, dropping the 10-80 percent charge time from 28 minutes to 26 minutes.

Skoda introduced the Elroq last fall and now the company is gearing up to introduce the all-new RS variant. As part of this effort, they’ve released a revealing teaser video that gives us a glimpse of the electric crossover ahead of its debut on April 3.

Set to be unveiled at Milan Design Week, the Elroq RS has been given a sporty makeover as it features a high-gloss black Tech-Deck Face as well as a unique front bumper. The latter has a sportier central intake with painted triangular accents. They’re joined by horizontal black bars that flow into the vertical air curtains.

More: Skoda’s New Elroq EV Aims For The Mainstream Sweet Spot

Moving further back, we can see new front fender badging and aerodynamically optimized wheels with a Mamba Green accent. While the rear end appears to carryover, the blacked out bumper suggests it could be updated as well.

The styling changes continue inside as we can see a perforated flat-bottom steering wheel with vRS badging. Elsewhere, there are two-tone front seats with vRS embroidery on the headrests. We can also expect a familiar digital instrument cluster and a freestanding infotainment system with a 13-inch display.

Powertrain details remain elusive, but the current range-topper is the Elroq 85. It features an 82 kWh battery pack as well as a rear-mounted motor producing 282 hp (210 kW / 286 PS) and 402 lb-ft (545 Nm) of torque. This allows the model to accelerate from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 6.6 seconds and have a WLTP range of 361 miles (581 km).

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.