Skoda has given the biggest clues yet to an electric future for the much-loved Skoda Octavia – just as The Independent revealed a month ago.
The new Skoda Vision O concept car, set to be unveiled at the Munich Motor Show on September 8, will be a thinly disguised look at the next generation of Octavia, that’s set to go electric.
Speaking to The Independent in July, Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer said, “I'm really looking forward to sharing our Octavia concept car that will give a glimpse of what we see the next level of our design strategy will look like.
“From my point of view, it is going to create a lot of buzz and controversial discussion because the design is very much the way forward. The car is clearly recognisable as a Skoda, because it's a further step of our modern solid design language that we have established and now fully introduced with the Elroq. But it's another step.”
Zellmer also also confirmed that the concept would be electric.
While Skoda says that the name Vision O is “derived from the concept of circularity” it’s clear from the shape of the car in the first teaser image to be released, that the car is every inch an Octavia, still one of the brand’s biggest-selling models.
The concept previewed in the line drawing in our image is officially a sneak peek into the future of Skoda in the estate segment and will show an evolution of Skoda’s Modern Solid design language
Speaking about the concept Klaus Zellmer said, "The Skoda Vision O design study will highlight the future trajectory of estate models under the influence of new technologies, sustainability, and the deep experience of Skoda Auto in this segment. This will be one of our most significant steps in developing and evolving our design language even further for this period of transition in the automotive industry.
“It will position us to remain a major player in the estate segment, where Skoda Auto has been engaged since the 1920s. We are excited to present this concept to the world in early September 2025, marking a new era for Skoda Auto."
The Skoda Octavia estate was first introduced in 1960, with more than 3 million versions of the modern-day Octavia Estate produced over four generations since 1998, making it also the best-selling estate model in Škoda history.
When the new Octavia arrives, possibly in 2027 after Skoda has launched its Epiq small electric SUV and Space BEV – Skoda-speak for the as yet unnamed production version of its flagship Vision 7S electric concept – it’s likely to use the latest platform technology from the Volkswagen Group called SSP or Scalable Systems Platform.
SSP is set to replace Volkswagen’s first-generation all-electric MEB platform and will eventually underpin everything from the smallest city car to the largest SUV across the whole Group. Crucially, it brings major leaps in software, paving the way for autonomous tech that you won’t currently find on any Skoda or other Group model.
