New Skoda Epiq EV coming soon - specs, price and release info

This is the Skoda Epiq, a little SUV-style-thing that will become Skoda’s smallest and cheapest electric car when it turns up in 2025. As you can probably make out, it’s a concept for now and exists only as pixels in Skoda’s corporate hard drive, but we already know it’ll cost “around €25,000”. See, prices of electric cars really are coming down.
Read on to find out everything we know so far about the Skoda Epiq. • Only 4.1m long, making it shorter than Skoda’s smallest crossover, the 4.2m Kamiq • Bigger boot than the Kamiq, though: 490 litres. The Kamiq’s is 400 • Skoda is promising “more than 248 miles” of range • Grille is called a “Tech Deck” because it has sensors and cameras in it • It should hit the roads by the end of 2025 • It's the second of six new Skoda EVs coming over the next few years • €25,000 starting price should equate to £23,000 in the UK

Because the Epiq is a rendering at this stage, most of what Skoda is saying about it is based on what it looks like. The five-door, five-seat Epiq represents a whole new design language for Skoda, we’re told. Called "Modern Solid," it “represents the next level of modernity,” with “smart functionality and practicality [that] are harmoniously balanced by attractive new looks and our sustainability approach.” Designers, eh? Anyways, it looks lovely, and it does indeed move things forward for Skoda, but in a familiar sort of way. The headlamps and taillights are razor thin, it’s very strong-shouldered, and both the front and rear end feature thick vertical slats for a sense of “ruggedness”.

Interior and technology

You can see from the images that the Skoda will keep the Epiq’s interior simple and functional, with a focus on sustainable materials and plenty of space – for people and junk. There’ll be loads of interior oddment space, and at 490 litres, the boot is surprisingly vast for a car this size. The Epiq is about 40cm longer than the Dacia Spring – the £15,000 EV that will most likely be the thorn in the Epiq’s side – but the boot is 60 percent larger, and features hidden underfloor storage.
Most of the car’s functions will be controlled via the large central touchscreen, which means it’s vital that Skoda gets the software right to avoid a vexing user experience. Signs are promising, though, with Skoda mentioning an “enhanced digital experience… designed to make drivers’ everyday lives easier”. Users will be able to link their car to a smartphone app, which will act as the key and enable things like pre-programming of charging, map destinations, and cabin heating.

We know that the platform underpinning the Epiq will be brand new, and also used for the Volkswagen ID.2 and Cupra Raval – Cupra is leading its development, in fact, which bodes well for the driving experience. The Epiq will be built in Spain. And because it’s new, it’ll be cutting-edge, featuring super-fast charging speeds (up to 150kW), bi-directional charging (so you can use it to charge your electric mountain bike during your rugged lifestyle-y adventures), and almost certainly 22kW on-board charging. Two battery sizes are on the cards, 38kWh and 56kWh, the latter the one that’ll give the Epiq its targeted 248 miles-plus range.

Due at the tail end of 2025, the Epiq will likey start from £22,000 for the 38kWh version, rising to around £30,000 for a top-of-the-range model with the bigger battery. None of those things are confirmed, but we expect the Epiq to undercut the Volkswagen ID.2 and Cupra Raval a little, as is the Volkswagen Group Way.
If you’re wondering why it’s called ‘Epiq’, it’s because somewhere down the line Skoda decided that its EVs should have names starting with an ‘E’ and ending with a ‘Q’. This one is “derived from the ancient Greek word “epos”, which stands for “word” or “verse”, but also for “tale” or “poem,” says Skoda. "The name evokes positive associations such as amazing, great, extraordinary and remarkable,” the company adds. So there you go. We did think about asking Skoda if we could name one of the cars ourselves, but decided against, just in case it made us look Egocentriq. Zing.

Skoda has outlined its future electric car plans in quite a lot of detail. We know there’ll be six of them, all before 2026. The Epiq here is the smallest, and it’ll be followed by a Karoq-sized SUV called Elroq. The Enyaq and Enyaq Coupe will be updated next year, then there’ll be an electric estate car about the size of the Superb, plus a massive SUV, which Skoda is calling “Space” at the moment. If it doesn’t name that one “Extragalactiq” we’ll be disappointed.

Again, mainly the ID.2 and the Cupra Raval, but also again, we think the Dacia Spring will turn heads. The Skoda is bigger, has more range, and will no doubt feel fancier, but the Dacia’s £15,000 price tag alone is hugely appealing. Renault will enter the small electric SUV market next year with the Renault 4, too. And there’s always MG – the MG4 sits right in the price bracket that higher-end Epiqs will.