New logo and three new electric models. The brand Skoda today, August 30, presented its plan for the coming years, called Next Level-Skoda Strategy 2030. With this new strategy, the Czech brand anticipates a new design language, a new corporate image and a new logo.
“Today is a very special day in the history of Skoda: we present our new brand identity, which includes a new logo and a revamped corporate identity,” he explained. Klaus ZellmerCEO of the Czech brand.
Zellmer also announced an investment of 5,600 million euros in electric cars and another 700 million euros in digitization over the next five years.
Martin Jahn, Head of Sales and Marketing at Skoda went further: “Through our new brand identity, we are preparing for the future of electric vehicles and are clearly positioning Skoda amongst external competition, while at the same time differentiating ourselves. even more clearly from the other brands of the Volkswagen Group“.
And the first of these major changes in Skoda’s strategy refers to the logo. From the next models launched by the Czech brand, as in the rear, the Skoda trade name will appear on the front, instead of the winged arrow logo.
During the exclusive session that AUTO BILD was able to attend and that was held in mid-July, I had the opportunity to chat with Oliver StefaniDirector of Design at Skoda, to whom I told him that in 2019 he himself explained to us in the Shanghai Show 2019 that in China you only have 5 seconds for a car brand to be identified due to the enormous competition that exists.
An arrow or a chicken?
In this sense, I asked him if the decision to remove the characteristic Skoda logo from the new models has anything to do with the Chinese reality. To which he answered me with another question: “For you, what does the Skoda logo represent?” “A winged arrow,” he answered.
“You think it’s an arrow when here in the Czech Republic they say it’s a hen, because of the crest. Others think it’s the plumage of an Indian. If you have to explain the logo after so many years, it’s better to leave it and evolve,” he concludes. blunt Stefani. And the truth is that he is right.
Be that as it may, Skoda did not take a step without having things clear in this regard, and therefore carried out a survey of 2,200 people from six key markets (Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Norway and the Czech Republic) on a selection of logo versions from a total of 165 designs to determine the future brand logo.
In addition to the use of a new typography, the so-called haček (hook, anticircumflex) is integrated into the first letter, as can be seen in the images above.
The Skoda Vision 7S anticipates the future
Also, in addition to the new corporate image, Skoda showed a preview of what the future electric models of the Czech brand will be like, and for this it used the Skoda Vision 7S (7S for Seven Seater, seven seats).
The Skoda Vision 7S concept, which is the first model of the brand with a matte color, is a prototype of SUVs electric, based on the MEB platform and that has an 89 kWh battery and announces a range of up to 600 km (wltp) and may have a recharging power of 200 kW.
The Skoda Vision 7S, which is even more impressive live and direct than in images, stands out for its angular lines and for being a successful mix –in my humble opinion– between Jeep and the Range Rover range of land rover.
In the case of Reasonable similarities With Jeep, the vertical air intakes stand out both in the lower part of the front and in the rear diffuser, which are extremely similar to the characteristic vertical bars of the American brand.
Skoda calls this new front Tech Deck Facewhich according to those responsible for the Czech brand “represents a modern reinterpretation of the well-known Skoda grille”.
The rear of the Skoda Vision 7S, meanwhile, stands out for the new T-shaped LED headlights.
In the profile is where, in the opinion of this journalist, the similarities with Land Rover appear, specifically with the elegant Range Rover Velar.
And it is that its more than 5 meters long, joins a fluid and well-proportioned line, and it is above all from the D-pillar to the rear where the similarities are glimpsed. Although the square and angular wheel arches – which house enormous 22-inch tires – break with the concomitants and give it a robust image.
It should be noted that in the Skoda Vision 7S the doors open in the opposite direction, which provides an image of enormous amplitude, which is actually the great bastion of the bright interior of this seven-seater SUV.
In this sense, the Skoda Vision 7S offers a spacious and symmetrical interior, in which the upper line of the instrument panel extends into the door panels, completing the wrap-around design and reinforcing the feeling of protection, especially for the innovative location of the baby seat, as you can see in the image below.
It should be noted that the Skoda Vision 7S offers two types of interior configuration, in which the huge screen of the 14.6-inch touch infotainment system is striking.
It so happens that the aforementioned infotainment system screen is rotatable (it can go horizontally or vertically, depending on the chosen interior configuration).
The aforementioned configurations are Driving and Relaxation mode. In Driving mode all controls are in their ideal position within easy reach of the driver, and the 14.6-inch central touch screen is oriented vertically to improve accessibility and information overlay.
In Relax mode, meanwhile, the interior is transformed: the steering wheel and instrument cluster slide back, away from the driver and passengers, to create additional space. The front row seats swivel inward and tilt to increase comfort, while also allowing rear passengers to see the screen.
Another interesting detail that anticipates the Skoda Vision 7S is the steering wheel, which is rectangular in shape with two solid spokes at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions, and with the new Skoda logo in the center.
Behind the flattened steering wheel there is a new type of instrumentation of 8.8 very simple and with information necessary to drive.
Finally, it should be noted that sustainable and recycled materials have been used in the Skoda Vision 7S, and that chrome has been replaced by matt colors.
When will we start to see this new design language in street models? It will be from 2026, when three other new electric models begin to be launched, of which we could already see one, the one that would be below the skoda enyaqa small SUV, and that has a formidable pint.
