The fuel-engined Citigo was replaced by the Skoda Citigo iV electric city car in Europe when it entered production in November 2019. In 2020, the brand restricted sales of the urban EV, shifting the focus on bigger and profitable models. It has now emerged that a next-gen Skoda Citigo iV project is unlikely in the foreseeable future.
In an interview with AutoBild in April, Skoda CEO Thomas Schafer said that the company needs at least four EVs by the end of the decade, including a model below the Enyaq iV and “another possibly the size of the Octavia.” The compact Skoda electric car would be bigger than the Citigo iV, Schafer suggested in an interview with Lidovky.cz later the same month. He said (translated):
The next car, which will be smaller than the Enyaq iV, will definitely be cheaper. And that doesn’t mean it will be small.
Thomas Schafer, CEO, Skoda Auto
Schafer said that the next Skoda EV is at a conceptual stage and that its price “will be very competitive” compared to traditional cars. Schafer could be referring to an ID.3-like compact hatchback (a sister model like the Cupra Born) or a city crossover (around 4.1 m long) that is technically similar to the VW ID.2.
At the Next-Level Skoda Strategy 2030 event, Schafer confirmed that the upcoming Skoda electric car wouldn’t be as small as the Citigo (about 3.6 m long) –
As I said we will offer at least three battery-electric vehicles below the size and cost of the Enyaq. Will it go as small as the Citigo iV? Not so sure. But it will go smaller than the Enyaq!
Thomas Schafer, CEO, Skoda Auto at the Next-Level Skoda Strategy 2030 event
VW Group MEB-Lite platform
Volkswagen Group is working on a version of the MEB platform that brands can deploy in cars smaller and cheaper than the ID.3. Unofficially the ‘MEB-Lite’ or ‘MEB Entry,’ this platform would debut in a Seat electric SUV in 2025 and spawn B-segment hatchbacks and SUVs with the cost structure that makes them attractive to customers and profitable for the brands.
Dedicated EV platforms allow making cars in sizes smaller than that of their ICE counterparts and EV conversions without compromise in space or features. So, an all-electric alternative built on the MEB-Lite platform need not be as long. It could be shorter than the new Skoda Fabia and still be just as spacious. It may come with battery packs of an energy storage capacity of about 40 kWh offering sufficient range for city usage.
Citigo iV sales dwindling in 2021
Despite the challenges being faced due to the semiconductor shortage as well as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, Skoda has managed to improve sales in absolute terms when compared to the first half of 2020. The company managed to deliver a total of 515,300 cars to customers in the period between January 2021 and June 2021. In the same period last year, deliveries stood at 426,700 units.
Sales of the electric car Citigo iV, however, see a fall of 40.4 percent to 3,100 units in the first half. This could be because Skoda has been restricting sales of the EV to better focus on bigger cars. The newcomer Skoda Enyaq iV on the other hand managed sales of 14,600 units accounting for 2.83 percent of total Skoda sales.
Display image: Imaginative render of a new Skoda Citigo by KDesign AG via Behance.
