Skoda’s larger EV heads back to 2023 launch pricing zone; smaller newcomer compact has stickers last seen when make was discounting last year.

FROM one to two, with two of each, all in sports utility wagon stylings - that’s the electric car strategy Skoda here has settled on as it rejigs its choices for a sector that’s lost a lot of zap over the past two years.

Expectation of how much business is expected from the Elroq (top), a wholly new car, and an updated Enyaq (above) has yet to be explained.

But release of line-up details and pricing from the Auckland-based national distributor suggests significant hope is pinned on the Elroq.

The models have a lot in common. Elroq sites on an Enyaq platform, uses Enyaq drivetrains and tech and has similar styling.

Although Skoda calls Elroq a compact SUV, it is not much smaller than the Enyaq, aside from losing 161mm in overall length, which stands at 4.49m. The Elroq’s shorter front and rear overhangs also give it a more upright, monolithic stance.

The wheelbase – the distance between the front and rear wheels – is identical and though Elroq gets a smaller boot - at 470 litres, it has 115 litres’ less capacity (and no ‘frunk’ front storage compartment is offered) - cabin space is similar in both cars.

The cabin design also mirrors the Enyaq, featuring a perforated leather steering wheel ahead of a 5.0-inch digital cluster and a 13.0-inch central touchscreen.

The big plus for re-igniting interest is that it is decidedly cheaper.

The pricing shared by Skoda NZ shows the new model topping out $10,000 below the entry version of the larger choice we’ve known since start of 2023.

Elroq has dual motor in its future, but starts here in single motor, rear-drive, with two battery sizes but 150kW power and 310 Nm torque either way.

The Elroq 60 with a 63kWh (59kWh net) battery and 400 kilometres range is the price leader at $69,0000, with an Elroq Sportline also in the mix for $79k.

Those prices are around where Enyaq fell to during 2024, when EV distributors had to drastically discount stock to shift it.

The 2026 pricing regime leaves impression Elroq Sportline stands likelihood of being cross-shopped against the entry Enyaq, a $79,990 Sportline.

Both run the same powertrain - an 82kWh (77kWh net) battery feeding a single 210kW/545Nm motor, both with 530km range.

The larger car will likely have a more affluent trim. Even so, a $10k saving by going smaller pays for a lot of recharging.

The other Enyaq coming is a performance-themed RS, for $99k. It’s the only dual motor Enyaq being proposed at the moment and has a bigger battery, with 84kWh (79kWh net) cited.

Maximum power is 250kW and while Skoda doesn’t give a combined torque figure, the rear motor delivers 545Nm and the front has 134Nm. Range is said to be “up to” 576km.

When Enyaq first came, it was provisioned in three choice; two SUVs and a coupe. All single motor, with an 82kWh (77kWh usable) battery, 150kW and 310Nm, and around 518kms range.

Nothing from that era exactly correlates with what we have for 2026. However, the entry car now is $1100 more than original range’s base choice, Sportline 80 Max. Back then we also had a $92,990 Sportline 80 and a $102,990 Coupe.

About the coupe. Skoda produces both Elroq and Enyaq with a slinkier, low-roofed look, but that shape hasn’t found a place in the NZ distributor’s thought process.

Either way, don’t look for the cars yet. A media share saying Elroq has ‘launched’ surely likely risks confusing consumers as no examples are here yet. The images used today are all of European and UK market products. Skoda NZ still has not made clear when the 2026 stock will actually land.

We know they are already half a year behind schedule. A year ago, Skoda NZ was indicating a mid-2025 release for both.

Last month it said March was the new timeline. That prices have shared now raises potential they might land earlier. But no-one’s saying.

The EV market is much different now than it was in 2020 through to end of 2023; a period when electrics were hot and products priced under $80k attracted a generous Government subsidy.

The cessation of that rebate on January 1 2024, the arrival of Road User Chargers on April 1 last year and the hiking of ACC levies on electrics have all have massive impact on EV uptake; the current buy-in is 70 percent down on 2023. Last year was also a miserable time.

Skoda has been been hit as hard as any, but evident paucity of Enyaq stock has also been a factor in the car not even making the top 15 of EVs sold here for the past year, with the brand also outside the top 15 makes, according to data accrued by specialist site EVDB.NZ.

Skoda NZ boss Alex Brown has consistently insisted “EV is and will remain a part of the Skoda strategy.”

Enya’s price adjustment back toward original RRPs is no surprise. Brown had always made it clear that, once the excess stock it had to sell at clean race price was gone, a return to something like those original RRPs is very likely. It’s not just a Skoda NZ plan; that’s been a common industry message.

When deciding on which versions of Elroq to settle on, Brown and his team have had plenty of choice. The Skoda factory can furnish the model with four electric powertrain options and three different battery packs.

That’s all in keeping with its proposal to make Elroq its lead electric choice for all the markets it furnishes. To that end, production has been racing alone - the car only unveils just over a year ago and they’ve recently knocked out the 100,000th example. And this before right hand drive markets, other than the UK, have been given access to the dual-motor, 250kW Elroq RS.

The 2026 models have the make’s ‘Modern Solid’ design language for all new Skodas. For Elroq, this aesthetic includes the ‘Tech-Deck Face’ - a flat, wide structure that replaces the traditional Skoda grille, usually an octagonal-in-shape feature. That, in turn, results in split LED headlights.

Aside from its new nose, Enyaq changes include a new 21-inch alloy wheel design, deletion of the rear window wiper for a cleaner appearance and badge changes. The updated car loses the ‘iV’ moniker.

Also, both cars replace traditional external badging with prominent SKODA script.