The international launch has been and gone, and the verdict is… the Skoda Elroq is pretty decent! Keenly priced, good looking, good to drive, and everything Skoda wants it to be. Good for them.

Before it hits UK roads, Skoda has popped one in a big glass box (with flamingos) in central London, so I went to a poke around it and talk to Harriet Venters, Elroq Product Manager for Skoda UK, about the car and the market it's entering. 

Skoda’s Smallest BEV

Currently, the smallest of Skoda's BEV offerings (a smaller car, Epiq, will arrive at some point), the Elroq, is up against a fair bit of competition. Venters is confident of its chances, though: "It's a really exciting marketplace. Obviously, there are so many factors that make BEVs really important, not only, I guess, within legislation, but in the world we live in." Legislation is forcing manufacturers' hands somewhat - especially in the UK - but it means we're getting quick evolution of tech. Ranges are growing, charge speeds are falling, and EVs are swiftly becoming 'cars,' not some sort of subcategory. While infrastructure might not be ideal (to wildly underestimate things) for those who don't have home chargers, it can still work if you need it (and the provider keeps their sites in good nick). 

Keeping the Skoda Fans Happy

For the Skoda hardcore - of which there are many - the Elroq seems to be going down well, says Venters. Its looks, ease of use, and continuation of Skoda's 'Simply Clever' driver/owner forward ethos sit well with them. Some new owners will come from EVs, others from ICE or hybrids. The latter may not be au fait with the intricacies of electric cars. It's here, says Venters, that Skoda's homegrown tools and dealers are at the fore: "You need to bring customers on that journey. And there's loads of different avenues [for us] to do that. Whether that's through our national platforms or website - which has a lot of tools available in terms of knowledge bases, or our electric charging calculator or mileage range calculator - to hopefully bring to life what is the journey of owning an electric car in an easy way. But the other piece really is around our network, making them [dealers] experts of electric product and what that means."

Priced to sell

Skoda has priced the car keenly to get people into it. It starts at £31,500, which won't put it on every drive, but the price is low enough to put it on more than a few radars. However, Skoda, like the rest of the automotive industry, is facing a problem. The UK's ZEV mandate. It's going to be up for discussion in parliament soon, so if you get to this late, things may have changed, but as it stands in December 2024, it goes thus: Every manufacturer has to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission models. Each year, the percentage of ZEVs that must be sold goes up, leaving less room for petrol. If they don't shift above the magic number, they get fined through the eye. If you have a nose at the used market, or even jump into a dealer or two, you'll spot new, or very nearly new EVs are HUGE discounts in a bid to get them off forecourts and onto graphs that make manufacturers look good, keeping fines at bay. 

It's an industry wide issue - a hangover of the now postponed ‘2030 petrol ban' (that wasn't a ban - but… anyway). The idea was that even if the general public didn't see what was going on, car makers would have huge financial incentives to bring emissions down. Some are having a great time with it, others less so. 

Venters sees what Elroq can bring as a positive (though she, er, would). She notes that over the years, the car as 'a thing' itself has been through plenty of shifts - from its actual inception to today, plenty of seismic changes have happened - and rather than seeing ZEV as a barrier, it's an opportunity: "When you're looking at electric vehicles, customers [previously] much more likely to consider other brands consider other avenues when they're looking. That's a really exciting position for Skoda. And it's about how we can make our electric cars be the front choice for them." ZEV, like it or not, isn't going to change who buys which car - and that means EV customers are always going to scope out an EV. 

New Technology

The new tech seems to have been a leveller for the industry. Look at the rise of MG, BYD, et al - brands that many would have turned their noses up at before, but good deals and products mean it's tough to go a day without spotting at least one MG4. For Skoda, it's a market to be seized. More EVs in the lineup means more options for more people - conquest customers or the faithful. 

The Elroq will be on UK roads soon, and it's a looker. Is it enough to get you into a Skoda for the first time? Perhaps an EV for the first time? Skoda's hoping the answer to both is 'yes.'

words by Alex Goy
pictures by Skoda UK