Skoda’s is less
than a week away from launching its first-ever electric car. The model, which
builds on the outgoing Citigo, will premiere on May 23 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Accompanying the announcement is a teaser image that previews the design of the
small zero-emission model, which looks like the regular Citigo with a few
changes.
The front grille
has an enclosed design, since there is no internal combustion engine that
requires cooling, the bumper appears to have been revised and the plug port is
found on the rear quarter panel, replacing the fuel filler cap.
The Czech automaker
is keeping all other aspects close to its chest for now, including the official
name of the electric Citigo which, according to recent reports, might be called
the Citigo-e iV. Nevertheless, we don’t have to look further than in
Volkswagen’s backyard to shed some light on the model, as they have been
offering the e-Up! for quite a few years now.
Essentially a
sister car to the electric Skoda, the e-Up! uses an 18.7 kWh battery that
powers the electric motor which, in turn, produces 82 PS and
210 Nm of torque. In the NEDC cycle, it has a range of up to 160 km. Recharging the battery from a 3.6 kWh wall box takes 6 hours, or 9
hours using the standard three-pin plug.
The facelifted
Superb will also be unveiled next Thursday, with revised styling and new tech
features. The mid-size car will gain a plug-in hybrid powertrain believed to
have been sourced from the Volkswagen Passat GTE.
