ŠKODA debuts all-electric VISION iV concept

ŠKODA unveiled its all-electric VISION iV concept at the Geneva Motor Show, a crossover coupe based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform that “offers a look ahead at ŠKODA’s electric future.”

The VISION iV concept car boasts all-wheel drive and two electric motors outputting 225 kW (306 PS). It goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 112 mph.

VISION iV’s 83kWh battery offers a maximum range of up to 500 km (311 miles) based on the WLTP standard. ŠKODA claims the battery can be charged to 80 percent of its total capacity in 30 minutes.

The ŠKODA VISION iV is 184 inches long, 76 inches wide, and 63.5 inches tall. It features handleless doors, and its wing mirrors are replaced by cameras for a 180-degree view. ŠKODA chief designer Oliver Stefani said,

“The minimalist design, also highlighted by the use of cameras instead of wing mirrors or by the lack of door handles, symbolises how easy our electric cars are to use. What’s more, illuminated design features and new light technology add exciting visual touches.”

Like many concepts now, VISION iV is tech-heavy, with smartphone door unlocking and inductive smartphone charging in the center console. Interestingly, ŠKODA also says “the VISION iV can be controlled using gestures, and – thanks to intelligent speech recognition with online support – can understand entire sentences and even dialects.” VISION iV also claims Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities.

While VISION iV is a concept, ŠKODA says the car “offers a concrete preview of ŠKODA’s first production car to be based on Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform,” so what the Czech brand is planning for production may look quite similar. Here are a few more promotional images from ŠKODA:

This isn’t the only MEB concept we’ve seen in recent days, as VW’s Spanish brand SEAT unveiled its el-Born all-electric hatchback based on the same platform. That car is also said to be close to a final product, with a production version coming to market as soon as 2020.

Beyond VISION iV, ŠKODA also showed off an interesting two-wheeler concept at the show.