Skoda will be taking another step into the
electric era of automobiles with the Enyaq, a zero-emission SUV due later this
year. Set to enter the iV sub-brand alongside the Citigoᵉ electric city car and
plug-in hybrid versions of the Octavia and Superb, the Enyaq will be their
first model based on Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB)
platform.
The word ‘Enyaq’ is derived from the Irish
name ‘Enya’, which means ‘source of life’. ‘Enya’ comes from the Irish Gaelic
word ‘Eithne’ – ‘essence’, ‘spirit’ or ‘principle’, and goes hand in hand with
the automaker’s SUV nomenclature by ending in ‘Q’, like the Kamiq, Karoq and
Kodiaq. Furthermore, the ‘E’ at the beginning of ‘Enyaq’ stands for
‘electromobility’.
Skoda hasn’t divulged anything else about
the Enyaq, except that it’s part of a series that will count more than 10
electric models. All of them will launch under the iV sub-brand before the end
of 2022 and are part of a € 2 billion (US$ 2.2 billion) investment in the
development of eco-friendly solutions running until the end of 2021.
Expected to be based on the upcoming
Volkswagen ID.4, Skoda’s electric SUV will likely share the latter’s
powertrain, believed to be a dual-motor setup, with one unit driving the front
and the other the rear axle. A 302 HP combined output is rumored, alongside
three lithium-ion battery pack options. The latter will likely be carried over
from the ID.3 compact hatch, giving the ID.4 (and the Skoda Enyaq) a range of
over 500 km in the top spec.
