Skoda goes with the flow for new EV name
● New compact electric SUV to be called Enyaq ● ‘E’ naming structure will roll out across EV range
SKODA has confirmed that its upcoming electric SUV will be called the Enyaq. The car will be Skoda’s second all-electric model, following the Citigo-e iV, and it’s the first to be based on the new MEB electric car architecture that’s been developed by the Volkswagen Group and is already underpinning the
VW ID.3 electric hatchback.
We’ve already been given a taste of what the Enyaq will look like by the Skoda Vision iV concept, which was shown at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. That car had a coupé-like curving roofline and achieved four-wheel drive by using two electric motors, one on the front axle and one at the rear. There’s no word on the design or precise technical make-up of the Enyaq at this stage, though.
Skoda has revealed the name in the form of an image showing the ‘Enyaq’ lettering in the same font and design as will appear on the rear of the car itself.
The name Enyaq is derived from the Irish name Enya, which in turn has its origins in the Gaelic word ‘eithne’, meaning ‘essence, spirit or principle’.
The Enyaq establishes a new naming convention within the Skoda range, where electric models will take names starting with ‘E’. In addition to this, the new car’s name also ties in with Skoda’s existing SUV model line-up of Kamiq, Karoq and Kodiaq by ending with a ‘Q’.
As the first Skoda model to be based on the MEB platform, the Skoda Enyaq will be a landmark car for the brand. It’s the next step in Skoda’s masterplan to offer 10 electrified models by the end of 2022, but it also uses tech that we’ll see in wide use across the VW Group in the coming years.
Bosses have previously hinted that the firm will also launch a performance version of the Enyaq. “Definitely we will have [v]RS versions of our electric cars; it’s part of our brand,” Skoda’s sales and marketing boss Alain Favey told us back in 2018. “The logic is the same – it’s not about performance as such. Our most powerful engine is 245bhp so by any stretch of imagination we’re not talking about challenging Ferrari.”
Skoda estimates that electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will constitute
25 per cent of its sales by 2025. Hopes are high that the Enyaq – due in showrooms next year – will realise a significant chunk of that total. To that end, Skoda says it will have invested two billion Euros in electric-car development and connected systems by 2025.
“The name Enyaq is derived from the Irish name Enya, which in turn has its origins in the Gaelic word ‘eithne’, meaning ‘essence, spirit or principle’”