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Škoda Epiq: The Czech Brand’s €26,000 Electric Gatecrasher That Thinks Small, Acts Big

At a world premiere in Zurich, Škoda Auto pulled the wraps off the all-new Škoda Epiq—a compact electric SUV that looks engineered with a ruler, a spreadsheet, and a very clear mission: make EV ownership feel normal, spacious, and (crucially) affordable.

Priced from around €26,000, the Epiq isn’t trying to be a halo car. It’s trying to be the car. And in true Škoda fashion, it leans hard into practicality while quietly packing some of the brand’s most advanced tech yet.

Modern Solid, Meet Real-World Logic

The Epiq is the first production expression of Škoda’s “Modern Solid” design language, and it shows. The front end is clean and tightly resolved, dominated by T-shaped LED signatures framing a glossy black “Tech-Deck Face” panel. It’s minimalist without feeling sterile, more “engineered object” than styling exercise.

At 4,171 mm long, it sits squarely in the compact SUV class, but its stance suggests something more substantial. A high shoulder line, wide track visuals, and short overhangs give it that planted, slightly chunky confidence Škoda buyers tend to prefer.

Aerodynamics, meanwhile, have clearly been taken seriously. A drag coefficient of 0.275 is achieved through active cooling flaps, wheel deflectors, underbody shielding, and carefully sculpted airflow channels—proof that efficiency is now as much a design constraint as aesthetics.

MEB+ and Front-Wheel Drive: A Škoda First

Under the skin, the Epiq debuts Volkswagen Group’s updated MEB+ architecture for compact EVs, and notably becomes Škoda’s first front-wheel-drive electric model.

That shift matters. It allows tighter packaging, reduced mass, and more interior space where it counts. The result is a car that prioritizes cabin volume over mechanical complexity—very Škoda, just electrified.

Battery options range from a 38.5 kWh LFP unit to a 55 kWh NMC pack, supporting outputs from 85 kW to 155 kW. The top Epiq 55 version delivers up to 440 km of range and DC fast charging from 10–80% in about 24 minutes.

Performance isn’t headline-grabbing, but it’s not supposed to be. Even the most powerful variant tops out at 160 km/h, reinforcing its role as an efficiency-first everyday SUV rather than a backroad bruiser.

Space: The Real Party Trick

If there’s one area where the Epiq punches above its weight, it’s packaging.

Despite its compact footprint, it offers a 475-liter boot—one of the largest in its class—plus a 25-liter frunk and over 28 liters of additional cabin storage. Door bins, hooks, compartments, and clever cubbies are everywhere, continuing Škoda’s long-standing obsession with “Simply Clever” solutions.

Rear passenger space also benefits from the long wheelbase (2,601 mm), giving the Epiq proportions that feel more MPV-adjacent than traditional crossover.

Inside: Recycled, Reconfigured, Refined

The interior is where Škoda’s EV pivot becomes most obvious. Materials are fully animal-free, with upholstery made entirely from recycled polyester fibres. Across trims, the cabin mixes minimalist surfaces with textured fabrics and subtle ambient lighting.

Different design themes—Studio, Loft, and Suite—range from functional black-and-grey simplicity to more upscale suede-like finishes with layered patterns. Even higher-spec versions lean into warmth rather than luxury excess.

There’s also a clear push toward sustainability beyond marketing buzzwords: more than 34 kg of recycled materials are used per vehicle, including interior plastics and practical accessories like scrapers and cable storage gear.

Tech and Assistance: Small Car, Big Systems

The Epiq is equipped with a 13-inch Android-based infotainment system featuring Google Maps, Spotify, and YouTube integration, alongside Škoda’s connected services via the MyŠkoda app.

Driver assistance is surprisingly comprehensive for the segment. Travel Assist 3.0 brings adaptive lane centering, traffic light response, and advanced parking functions including remote operation. Safety tech includes Side Assist, Front Assist, fatigue monitoring via camera, and up to seven airbags.

Optional upgrades push further into semi-automated territory with intelligent park assist and enhanced camera systems.

Škoda’s Most Important EV Yet?

The Epiq isn’t chasing headlines with outrageous acceleration figures or concept-car theatrics. Instead, it’s doing something arguably more important in today’s EV landscape: making the electric crossover feel like a rational default choice.

Compact outside. Big inside. Efficient, connected, and priced to actually matter.

If Škoda executes it as promised, the Epiq won’t just expand the brand’s EV lineup—it could become the model that normalizes it.

Source: Škoda

News

BYD Turns EV Charging Into a Pit Stop

There was a time—not that long ago—when a 150-kW fast charger felt like the future. Then came 350 kW, and suddenly “coffee break charging” became the industry’s favorite buzz phrase. Now, BYD has effectively drop-kicked that entire narrative into irrelevance.

The Chinese giant has confirmed that its next-generation charging tech is headed to Europe, and it’s not arriving quietly. Over the next 12 months, BYD plans to deploy 6,000 fast chargers outside China, half of them planted firmly across the European map. That’s ambitious. What’s borderline absurd is the hardware itself.

We’re talking about chargers capable of delivering up to 1,500 kW. Yes, kilowatts—not a typo, not a rounding error. That’s more than four times the output of today’s quickest widely available public chargers. If current infrastructure made EV ownership convenient, BYD’s “Flash” network threatens to make it almost trivial.

And here’s the kicker: it’s not a walled garden. Unlike some charging ecosystems that feel like exclusive clubs, BYD is opting for inclusivity. The chargers will use CCS2 connectors, meaning they’ll play nice with most European EVs. Denza-branded chargers will appear at dealerships selling Denza models, while public installations will carry the Flash name. Behind the scenes, BYD plans to partner with existing charging providers rather than reinvent the wheel—or the grid.

Of course, headline numbers are only half the story. BYD claims its latest battery tech can take a compatible car from 10 to 70 percent in just five minutes, and to a near-full 97 percent in nine. That’s not charging—that’s a pit stop. It fundamentally reshapes how you think about long-distance EV travel. Range anxiety doesn’t disappear; it just becomes irrelevant.

The first beneficiaries of this high-voltage bravado will be the Denza lineup, including the theatrical Denza Z9GT. A three-motor, all-electric shooting brake packing a 123-kWh battery and enough punch to hit 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds, it reads like a spec-sheet fever dream. But it’s also a statement: performance and convenience no longer need to live in separate conversations.

Then there’s the curveball—the Denza D9 DM-i. A plug-in hybrid minivan probably isn’t what you picture when someone says “charging revolution,” but here it is, quietly rewriting expectations. Its 58.5-kWh battery can gulp down up to 559 kW, enabling the same five-minute 10–70 percent charge window. In a seven-seat MPV with 209 km of electric range and a total reach of 950 km, that’s not just impressive—it’s practical. Especially when some rival plug-in hybrids still treat DC fast charging like an optional personality trait.

Naturally, BYD isn’t alone in this arms race. Geely has already hinted that its own next-gen chargers and “Golden Brick” battery tech could push speeds even further. Because of course they could—this is 2026, and escalation is the only constant.

Not everyone is convinced, though. Over in Munich, BMW is playing the role of cautious realist. Markus Fallböhmer, the company’s head of battery production, has openly questioned whether chasing extreme charging speeds comes at a cost. Push one metric to the limit, he argues, and something else—longevity, reliability—inevitably gives way.

It’s a fair point. Physics, after all, doesn’t do hype.

Still, if BYD can deliver even a fraction of what it’s promising—consistently, reliably, and at scale—it won’t just be raising the bar. It’ll be moving it so far ahead that the rest of the industry will have no choice but to sprint just to stay in frame.

Source: BYD

News

Bentley Hits Pause on EV Dreams, Doubles Down on Hybrid Bentayga for 2028

There was a time—not long ago—when Bentley seemed ready to sprint headlong into an all-electric future. Five EVs by 2030, a battery-powered successor to the Bentayga, and a clean break from combustion. That plan, like so many ambitious electrification roadmaps, has now met reality. The new strategy? Slow down, recalibrate, and double down on plug-in hybrids.

At the center of that rethink sits the next-generation Bentley Bentayga, due in 2028. It won’t be the EV standard-bearer once envisioned. Instead, it will lead a new wave of Bentley plug-in hybrids—less a revolution, more a carefully judged evolution.

A Reality Check from Stuttgart

Bentley’s pivot isn’t happening in isolation. Parent group dynamics—and more specifically, delays at Porsche—have forced a rewrite. The much-anticipated SSP-based electric architecture, originally destined to underpin the Bentayga EV, has been pushed into the next decade at significant cost. That left Bentley with a choice: wait, or adapt.

Adapt it is.

Rather than sit on its hands, Bentley is shifting the next Bentayga onto the PPC platform—the same bones set to underpin the next Porsche Cayenne and future large Audi Q9. It’s a platform built for flexibility, capable of housing everything from straight-up combustion engines to next-gen plug-in hybrid systems.

The Bridge to Electric—Whether You Like It or Not

Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser isn’t shy about the reasoning. The demand for high-end EVs hasn’t quite matched the industry’s early optimism, and forcing customers into full electrification risks alienating a loyal base.

That base, crucially, loves the Bentayga. It’s been the brand’s best-seller since its 2015 debut, accounting for roughly half of all sales. In other words, you don’t mess with a winning formula—you refine it.

So the next Bentayga will lean heavily on a new-generation plug-in hybrid setup, likely centered around a 3.0-liter V6. Expect power outputs in the same ballpark as today’s 456 horsepower, but with a meaningful upgrade in electric-only range over the current car’s modest 30 miles. New battery tech and updated electronics should push it into genuinely usable EV territory—finally.

Not Quite Done with Gasoline

For all the electrified talk, Bentley isn’t quite ready to close the book on internal combustion. Select markets—particularly the U.S.—will continue to see pure gasoline variants, likely including V8-powered models. Limited-run specials could even sneak through in stricter regions, depending on legislation.

It’s a pragmatic approach, if not a romantic one. The days of unfiltered, twelve-cylinder excess may be numbered, but Bentley isn’t about to abandon its heritage overnight.

Design: Concept to Reality

Visually, the new Bentayga will take cues from the EXP 15 concept, signaling a subtle but meaningful shift in Bentley’s design language. Expect sharper surfacing, more pronounced lighting signatures, and a closer visual relationship to the upcoming “Urban SUV”—a smaller, electric-leaning model aimed squarely at rivals like the Cayenne Electric and Lotus Eletre.

Underneath, the new architecture brings more than just powertrain flexibility. Advanced air suspension with active ride control, the latest driver-assistance systems, and continued support for the Extended Wheelbase variant—all but guaranteed to remain a favorite among chauffeur-driven buyers—will ensure the Bentayga stays at the sharp end of the luxury SUV class.

The EV Isn’t Dead—Just Delayed

Bentley’s first EV, the so-called “Luxury Urban EV,” is still very much on track, with a reveal expected later this year and deliveries beginning in 2027. But if you’re waiting for a fully electric Bentayga equivalent, you’ll need patience—it won’t arrive until after 2030.

And when it does, it’ll likely pack serious firepower. Sharing PPE architecture with electric Porsche models, outputs north of 1000 horsepower aren’t off the table. Range figures approaching 400 miles? Also likely.

The Big Picture

What Bentley is doing here isn’t retreat—it’s recalibration. The brand is betting that plug-in hybrids, not full EVs, are the right answer for the next decade. It’s a hedge against uncertain demand, evolving legislation, and the simple reality that even ultra-luxury buyers aren’t all ready to go fully electric.

The next Bentayga, then, won’t be a revolution. But it might be something more important: exactly what the market is willing to buy.

Source: Autocar