Update: Powertrain section updated
The Skoda Superb has been around for twenty years and has been a great success. It has been produced for three generations and has seen a cumulative total of over 1.5 million units. About half of all sales come from the current generation, as there have been 700,000 third-gen models produced as of September 2021. The two millionth sales milestone will likely come with the fourth-generation Superb, which we discuss in this story.
On the fourth-gen 2023 Skoda Superb
The next generation of the Skoda Superb, arriving in 2023, will feature an evolutionary design. The 2023 Skoda Superb will look slightly bolder and more assertive but instantly recognisable.
Skoda’s exterior designer Petr Matusinec talked about Skoda’s design elements to Car Design News in 2021. He presented the signature design elements that will likely apply to the next-gen Superb. Meeting the new ‘Skoda Design Criteria,’ the 2023 Skoda Superb should feature a powerdome, a new octagonal grille with taller struts, and narrower and wider headlamps connected to the radiator grille. At the rear, the new taillights would be slimmer C-shaped units, and the Superb will retain its stately character in the future.
Testing of the next-gen Skoda Superb has likely started. Auto.cz reader Marek spotted a camouflaged Skoda Superb Estate prototype on test during a trip to the Grossglockner in the Austrian Alps.
A “Bremsprobe” sticker on its tailgate indicated that Skoda was testing the brakes of the test prototype, and those could go into the next-gen Superb. The lights, grille, and silhouette look the same, but the lower front-end looked different. The front bumper looked sportier and probably had tall vertical side air intakes. The car didn’t seem to have the signature wide lower air intake, but It’s too early to conclude on the design changes as it’s a mechanical prototype.
Bernhard Maier, the former Chairman of the Board of Management of Skoda Auto, spoke to ElectricVehicleWeb at the Vision IN concept unveiling on February 3, 2020. He said not only had he driven the first prototype of the next-generation Skoda Superb, but he is also confident that the package would exceed what the fully-loaded Octavia offers.
The new Superb will have everything you can think about, and even more than that. It will be an awesome car. I have already not only seen the package, but already drove the very first ‘idea’ of what it would look like, I am not anxious about that (cannibalization). And the better is always the enemy of the good! So the Octavia and the Superb can fight with each other and within the brand.
Bernhard Maier, the former Chairman of the Board of Management of Skoda Auto
He added:
The new Octavia is the icon of our brand, the newborn Octavia is such a big step forward, but I am not afraid that the current and the next-gen Superb will not be able to take up the challenge.
Bernhard Maier, the former Chairman of the Board of Management of Skoda Auto
2023 world premiere, to come in Liftback & Combi versions
As the next generation of the Superb rolls out, there is a lot of excitement. The new car will retain the MQB platform and get electrification with an iV plug-in hybrid. We also have confirmation on the world premiere from the Q&A session of the Next Level Skoda Strategy 2030 event held on 24 June 2021.
The world premiere is in 2023, (availability) depending on the market of course. I guess Czech and rest of Europe is 2023. And will there be an RS version?..if customers want it, we shall see!
Thomas Schafer, CEO, Skoda, on the world premiere of the next-gen Superb and the RS version, in June 2020.
Will the next-gen Superb offer both liftback and Combi versions? Thomas Schafer answered, “Yes!”
Interior & Features
The next-gen Superb will pack major interior changes. Schafer has told Auto Express that it will borrow some elements from the Enyaq iV. A minimalist design with compact elements and fewer/switchable physical controls could be the natural evolution of the interior of the 2023 Skoda Superb.
The all-new Superb could feature a free-standing 13-inch touchscreen infotainment system controllable via a touch slider, by multitouch gestures, and with hand movements. Skoda could use a much sleeker climate control panel and offer digital temperature adjustments through the infotainment system. Auto Express, however, suggests that the all-new model could have physical dials and switches with multiple functions, meaning it may not be as digital-only as the Enyaq iV.
The new Superb should download the HUD, tri-zone climate control, DSG with shift-by-wire, along with new driver assistance systems, safety systems (such as the Collision Avoidance Assist, Turn Assist, Exit Warning) and ‘Ergo’ rear seat tech from the new Octavia, besides debuting several firsts for the Skoda brand.
When we requested Oliver Stefani, Head of Design of Skoda Auto, his comment on the next-gen Superb and whether the sales pressure exerted by crossovers would influence the design, he insisted that the limousine will continue with the tried and tested formula:
The limousine and combi are still very important cars in our segment and also in the future. We know that, in Skoda the number of cars sold in the limousine and combi, are going against the trend, and increasing. So, it (the new Superb) will be a good mix of emotionality and functionality to the car. I have no doubt at all that the next Superb will be a really nice car and very successful.
Oliver Stefani, Head of Design of Skoda Auto, on the next-gen Superb, in Feb 2020
Powertrain
According to a report by Auto Express in October 2021, the next-gen Skoda Superb will be powered by a new plug-in hybrid powertrain (PHEV) to meet the Euro 7 emission norms, expected to be implemented by 2025. The updated plug-in system should have a pure electric range higher than the current 62 km (WLTP).
As per an earlier report from auto motor und sport, VW does not plan to offer a manual transmission in the next-generation Passat. While it serves a different clientele, it’s possible the Skoda Superb may also eliminate its manual gearbox in the next generation. The lower-end Superb MT model could continue only if there is enough demand for this feature.
Next-gen Skoda Superb production
The manufacture of the next-generation Superb is moving from Kvasiny to Bratislava in 2023, Skoda confirmed in November 2020. With more customers preferring SUVs over traditional cars like sedans and estates/station wagons, demand for the VW Passat is dipping in most markets. In the U.S., for instance, the model retires permanently at the end of the current generation. In Europe, the new strategy to continue selling it is getting Skoda to develop and manufacture it at a lower cost and reportedly offering only its estate variant, ironically called Passat Variant, in the next generation.
Originally, Skoda planned to make its next-gen Superb and Volkswagen’s next-gen Passat in Kvasiny, Czech Republic. The new plan is that Volkswagen will conduct the manufacturing of the two sedans at its Bratislava plant in Slovakia. With Skoda’s Citigo, Volkswagen’s Up!, and Seat’s Mii made at this facility, the site offers one of the lowest production costs among the three plants. Skoda will use the freed-up space at the Kvasiny plant to manufacture SUVs.
We are developing the next generations of the Superb and Volkswagen Passat in Mladá Boleslav and will be building them at the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava from 2023. This will free up capacity for more than 150,000 Skoda vehicles at our Czech plant in Kvasiny.
Thomas Schafer, CEO, Skoda
At the Next Level Skoda Strategy 2030 event last year, here’s what Schafer said about the joint development of the new Superb:
You are already familiar with one of the projects. We are taking on the joint development of the next Superb and VW Passat generations, it is a great honour for our engineers. Tasks like these give Skoda a broader and more international profile and make a decisive contribution to the (VW) group’s success.
Thomas Schafer, CEO, Skoda, expanding the ‘Explore’ priority of Skoda’s 2030 strategy
2023 Skoda Superb FAQs
What is the next-gen Skoda Superb release date?
The next-gen Skoda Superb could go on sale in the second half of 2023, manufactured by the VW Bratislava plant.
What will be the next-gen Skoda Superb price?
The base next-gen Skoda Superb may cost around €30,000 in Germany.
Which cars will the 2023 Skoda Superb compete with?
The 2023 Skoda Superb will compete with the likes of 2023 VW Passat and Peugeot 508.
Featured image: YouTube/Car Design News/Skoda Auto