Skoda has released the first teaser images of its Vision E electric concept car ahead of its debut at the Shanghai motor show later this month.
The Vision E marks a commitment from the company to build five electric vehicles by 2025, with a plug-in hybrid version of the Superb upper medium model arriving in 2019.
According to Skoda, the Vision E – a theoretical Tesla Model X rival – is capable of travelling up to 310 miles between charges and is capable of ‘level three’ autonomy, which means the driver is able to turn their attention away from driving, but will still need to take control at times.
Skoda said that by 2030, 15% of cars will be able to drive themselves. The Vision E will be able to operate itself in traffic jams, go into an autopilot mode on motorways, overtake, and search for empty parking spaces.
It is powered by a 225kW (301hp) motor that can propel the car – which is a similar size to that of the Kodiaq crossover – onto a top speed of 112mph.
“With the Vision E, we are giving an outlook on Skoda’s’s future models with electric drive,” said Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier. “In addition to plug-in hybrid vehicles, we will also be launching five purely electric cars on the market in various segments before 2025. This will enable us to offer every fourth car with electric drive.”
Inside, the Vision E features four rotating single seats in order increase the sense of space, while the car uses large glass surfaces to further increase that feeling. These features are, however, unlikely to appear in a production Skoda any time soon.
As well as the cockpit display – where vehicle information is displayed – each passenger has their own screen which can be used to display information and entertainment while on the move, with the front passenger’s screen located in the instrument panel, and the other three being placed in the backrests of the front seats.
