New Skoda Peaq 7-seater will arrive in June, thanks to a little help from XPeng
The all-electric Skoda Kodiaq alternative will focus on three things: space, practicality and comfort
Auto Express can confirm Skoda’s new flagship SUV, the Peaq, will be unveiled in June, almost four years after the brand previewed the all-electric seven-seat range-topper with its bold Vision 7S concept.
The Peaq will embody everything its maker is known for, taken to a new level, with a focus on space, practicality and comfort, and, of course, it’ll be packed with Simply Clever features designed to make life easier – as well as set this car apart from its rivals.
Development boss Johannes Neft has also revealed to Auto Express the Peaq will use a new and improved version of the Volkswagen Group’s tried-and-test MEB platform that underpins the Skoda Elroq and Enyaq. He said until now this particular variation has only been used in China, and will be introduced to Europe by the Peaq.
Neft was likely referring to the new ‘China Electrical Architecture’ (CEA) that Volkswagen developed with the Chinese company XPeng and has been launched just this week in the new VW ID. Unyx 07.
CEA replaces the old electrical system on MEB vehicles, increasing computing power for better connectivity and smart features such as AI and “full-vehicle over-the-air updates”. It’s also supposed to reduce development time and costs for new cars, and their complexity by reducing the number of control units they need.
The name Peaq was chosen to reflect the innovations that will feature on the flagship model and its position at the top of the range. It also marks a new generation of electric vehicles for Skoda, ditching the E-led names so far seen on the Enyaq and Elroq, as well as the forthcoming Epiq crossover that’s also due to be revealed this summer.
Meanwhile, sales and marketing boss Martin Jahn told Auto Express the Peaq will also offer big value for money in the electric seven-seat SUV segment. So it should undercut rivals such as the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9, which currently start from around £66,000 and £65,000 respectively.
Because of that, the closest rival (at least in terms of price) is likely to be the Peugeot E-5008 which is priced from a little over £46,000, but you can currently save nearly £9,000 on one with our Buy A Car service.
How much space will the Skoda Peaq offer?
However, offering impressive value for money doesn’t mean the Peaq will feel cheap in any way, especially the interior. As Jahn pointed out, in recent years Skoda has worked to make “the interior of our cars more premium. Not in the sense of bringing extremely expensive materials, but bringing materials that are affordable, that are recyclable, but still feel premium”.
Skoda has promised the Peaq will deliver “unparalleled spaciousness”, and to do that the zero-emissions alternative to the best-selling Skoda Kodiaq will be around 4.9 metres long. That means it will be the biggest model in Skoda’s line-up by far, and bigger than the E-5008, although not quite as colossal as the Ioniq 9 or EV9.
Aside from its size, Skoda has remained tight-lipped about technical details for the Peaq. But we know it will be based on the MEB platform that we’re incredibly familiar with, because it's already used by about a dozen EVs.
The flagship seven-seater will probably get the same 86kWh battery and 200kW maximum charging speed as the ID. Buzz LWB, which we expect will provide a range of more than 370 miles and allow for a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in less than 30 minutes from a suitably fast ultra-rapid charger. A choice of rear and all-wheel drive variants are likely to be available, too.
What will the new Skoda Peaq look like?
Since the Vision 7S was revealed in 2022, we’ve been issued a handful of teaser images, as well as a few pictures of the car undergoing testing – including around the gruelling Nurburgring race track in Germany.
From these, we can see the car will use Skoda’s new ‘Modern Solid’ design language, as seen on the facelifted Enyaq and new Elroq – including the ‘Tech Deck’ face found on those cars. This replaces a typical Skoda grille with a thin arrangement of sensors and cameras that form part of the car’s active-safety hardware.
However, compared with the Enyaq and Elroq, the new seven-seater SUV is expected to take Skoda’s bold new design language to the next level with an even more minimal look. This includes the application of a clamshell-style bonnet and much thinner fresh LED headlights that are integrated into the Tech Deck Face.
There are also plenty of details that appear to have been carried straight over from the Vision 7S concept, including a twin-fin roof spoiler and super-slim tail-lights that extend onto the bootlid. The overall shape is close to the concept’s, too, with a very square front end and almost van-like proportions that capitalise on interior space, thanks to a short bonnet and a minimal rear overhang.
Unsurprisingly, the Vision 7S’s coach doors haven't made it to production, given that we can see the pop-out rear door handles in the usual position. The concept’s unconventional ‘six-plus-one’ seating arrangement has almost certainly been replaced by a more traditional choice of five or seven-seat options, although we have yet to get a look inside the production car.
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