Skoda Enyaq: Brand's new EV crossover named
The Czech brand loves its unusual model names, and its vital new EV takes the cake
by Mike Costello- shares
Skoda is preparing to reveal its first electric SUV this year, based on the same ‘MEB’ battery-friendly architecture as the ID.3 and ID.4 from parent company Volkswagen.
Today, while not revealing the actual car itself, the company did tell us what it’ll be called: the Skoda Enyaq, a portmanteau of Irish name Enya (one example being the Celtic pop singer) and the letter Q with which the company’s other SUV end their names – think Kamiq, Karoq, and Kodiaq.
Enya itself comes from the Irish Gaelic word ‘Eithne’, meaning ‘essence’, ‘spirit’ or ‘principle’. Given EVs are the future for the whole Volkswagen Group, the symbolism isn’t too much of a stretch.
The Enyaq is the Czech brand’s first series-production vehicle based on the MEB and the first of more than 10 electrified models that will be launched in Europe and China under the ‘Skoda iV’ sub-brand by the end of 2022.
We’d expect the production car to borrow from 2019’s slinky Skoda Vision iV crossover concept, which had two electric motors for all-wheel-drive grip and a total power output of 225kW, plus a 500km-ish targeted driving range.
By 2025, Skoda expects all-electric vehicles and models with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drives to account for 25 per cent of its sales. By 2021, the car manufacturer will have invested two billion euros in the development of electric models.
Skoda’s Australian arm, which is currently enjoying all-time record sales, has previously spoken of its desire to bring the electric SUV to our market when it can.
Volkswagen plans to launch the ID.3 hatch and ID.4 SUV from 2022 locally, for context, and our understanding is Skoda is working to the same timeframe.
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Skoda Enyaq: Brand's new EV crossover named