Skoda readies replacement for its Superb executive model alongside its all-new EV line-up.
The Skoda Superb is on track to be heavily updated for a fourth generation, returning in 2024 to take the fight to the Peugeot 508 with a choice of ICE and hybrid powertrains in a practical wagon body.
Skoda recently detailed a bold electrification plan under which it will introduce a new flagship electric SUV, an electric city car and an electric alternative to the Skoda Karoq crossover by 2026. However, it will maintain – and refresh – its ICE product offering in the run-up to the 2030 ban, when it estimates that such cars will still account for 30 per cent of sales.
A new-generation Superb with predominantly ICE propulsion will play a core role in maintaining that share. In 2021, the Superb accounted for more than 66,000 of Skoda’s 878,000 global sales.
Given that the current Superb shares the bulk of its underpinnings with the Volkswagen Passat and is built alongside its sibling in Eden, Germany, it’s expected that the same will be true of the next-generation car.
That means the next Superb will be based on the latest generation of the Volkswagen Group’s ICE car platform, MQB Evo, which in turn means it can offer a broadly comparable powertrain set-up to the current Superb.
We therefore expect a choice of front and four-wheel drive configurations and a mix of pure-ICE and electrified powertrains, in line with Skoda’s ploy to cater to buyers at the lower end of the market while strengthening its showing in the premium executive segment.
It remains to be seen which drivetrains will be carried over or replaced for the next generation, but maintaining this variety would allow the next Superb to straddle a wide price bracket, as does the current car.
What also remains to be seen is whether Skoda will bring back the four-door liftback Superb. So far, we’ve seen only a wagon testing, and Volkswagen’s axing of the Passat sedan last year speaks to the weakening of the traditional executive sedan segment. The Ford Mondeo and Opell Insignia (ex Holden Commodore) have also made high-profile exits recently.
Certainly, Skoda looks to have pursued evolution over revolution for the next-generation Superb’s design language. The silhouette is all but indistinguishable from the current car’s, but visible beneath the camouflage are grille, lighting and trim details that bring the wagon into line with newer and recently refreshed Skoda models like the Scala, Kodiaq and Octavia.
Given that the Superb was facelifted three years ago, the new car is expected to be revealed next year ahead of a launch in 2024.
Production is tipped to take place on a new line in Czechia, although this hasn’t yet been officially confirmed.
Felix Page