Skoda wants to supplement its traditional passenger car line-up with a fleet of autonomous-capable vehicles that will be offered on a subscription basis.
The vehicles would be part of a new ‘function on demand’ model created by parent company Volkswagen Group and will future-proof the company, CEO Klaus Zellmer told Autocar, suggesting: “This business potential will be huge. We don’t want to miss that train.”
As such, these cars are not likely to be marketed for individual sale, suggested Zellmer, as it would be too far removed from Skoda's current entry-level price point – a base Skoda Fabia costing £21,125, for example.
“Those cars that are able to offer additional value or additional usage [such as fully autonomous driving] will typically be in fleets,” said Zellmer. “This is because the typical price point of those cars for Skoda customers – that will be a challenge [to market].”
Instead, they will likely be part of – but most likely not exclusive to – a fleet operated under the Europcar brand, which is in the final stage of being bought by a consortium led by Skoda owner VWG for £2.4 billion.
The cars within Europcar fleet will be offered on a pay-as-you go basis for a few hours of use; for car sharing; for ride hailing, which is expected to be the main aim for Skoda’s autonomous cars; or on a monthly subscription basis.
Previously, Christian Dahlheim, CEO of Volkswagen Financial Services, said: “Autonomous vehicles will be the next game-changer and lift the platform to an even higher level.”
The first self-driving car to be part of the scheme, which is tipped by the VW Group to be launched in Europe in 2025, will be an autonomous Volkswagen ID Buzz. Zellmer did not say when Skoda models would join nor in what form, be it specialised autonomous models or adaptations in the same vein as the ID Buzz.
If they arrive, any autonomous-only Skodas will join new electric additions to the Czech brand’s line-up, which will include the Elroq city car, a Fabia-priced supermini and a production version of the Vision 7S MPV concept – all of which could also be adapted to be used as part of the wider VW Group scheme.
“If you look into society, there is a clear trend that you go away from ownership to just [using cars] when you want to,” said Zellmer. “We don’t want to miss that train as this business potential will be huge; there is a huge profit pool for us in there.”
Car sharing is also being seen potentially as a profitable business area. A similar scheme, called Mobilize, was recently announced by the Renault Group, which it expects to be responsible for around 30% of its total turnover by 2030. The scheme offers single- and two-seat electric city car rentals, as well as charging stations and servicing programmes.
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Autonomous is only feasible in the foreseeable future with specifically designed roads, and even then only used by autonomous cars. There's not the space or money to build these. I'm impressed by Tesla's progress, but it's so far off being self driving away from dual carriageways and motorways - unless roads are designed around it then it'll be decades.
The car manufacturers are heading for an enormous fall, and soon. Apart from cost of living, etc the lease fees have become prohibitive and grossly inflated - I'm trying to find a half decent car to replace my Model 3. I think they've totally misjudged what people will pay for a car, and the bad feeling of having to downgrade significantly to keep the same monthly outlay will linger. Not just a Tesla thing, it's across pretty much all manufacturers, and who wants to pay £500 a month on something bog average? The headline numbers look good, but hidden is usually a large desposit, 5,000 miles a year, and 4 plus years contracts. Anything even slightly decent is £500 a month - just daft.
Subscription and autonomous, two words that should be kept in the closset until they're either practical and or desired.