No hybrids, no worries: Skoda says NVES 'not scary' but believes its model mix will need to change in coming years

Skoda isn't worried about Australia’s New Vehicle Efficency Standard (NVES) introduced this year, despite not having any hybrid models.

The brand’s Head of Product and Marketing Kieran Merrigan, said it was true Skoda wasn’t where its rivals are when it comes to hybrid powertrains. “If you look at hybrid - the segment is growing, but we’re just not there.”

“If there was an option to be there, we’d take it, but it’s just not available to us.”

“Skoda is looking at everything - if you consider the volatility [of emissions regulations] and the world is moving in a certain direction - so we wouldn’t say no to anything. We’ve got plug-in hybrid, battery electric, combustion and mild-hybrid cars overseas, but even our combustion vehicles are direct injection, turbocharged.”

Skoda’s General Manager of Corporate Communications Paul Pottinger, added: “We haven’t had a [non-turbo] car in ten years, so we’re so far ahead of anything remotely comparable. The biggest engine we sell right now is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol - NVES is not scary to us. We think it’s great. We want it. It’s not just because it’s good for our brand, but how can it not fail to be better for the environment and for everyone?”

Merrigan agreed the small car landscape will need to look significantly different in the coming years, and took a jab at Skoda’s in-market opponents: “Those 2.0-litre [non-turbo] engines sell in enormous numbers.”

Examples include the Subaru Crosstrek (2.0-litre, 165g/km C02), Mazda CX-3 (2.0-litre, 146g/km C02), and Honda HR-V (1.5-litre, 133g/km C02).

2025 Skoda Kodiaq

Tougher rivals to beat on emissions with the current Skoda line-up will continue to be plugless hybrid versions of the HR-V (98g/km) or Toyota Yaris Cross (93g/km) which are increasingly proving popular with buyers. 

As it stands, the Kamiq’s two engines paired to an efficient dual-clutch automatic produce either 125g/km of C02 for the 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder 85TSI, or 126g/km for the 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder 110TSI.

It’s a similar story across all of Skoda’s range.

Passenger vehicles (not utes or heavy duty 4WDs) will need to emit less than 141g/km to avoid attracting penalties for the full year 2025 under the new NVES scheme. For 2026 it is 117g/km and reduces every year until 2029 where the fleet average will need to be less than 58g/km.

2025 Skoda Fabia

When it comes to the financial impacts of NVES directly though, Merrigan says Skoda would be “fine” for the next few years given these targets. After that things will need to change and certain incoming products will enable the brand to stay ahead of harsher emissions targets further down the line.

“I think we’ve got the luxury of Euro 6 - super efficient engines. So we’re in a stronger position for the next few years” he said. “I think from there it’s tougher, and the mix [of powertrains] has to play a bigger role if we want to continue staying in credits.

“We were not real keen on plug-in hybrids. We thought battery electrics would play a bigger part, now we’ve got [next-gen] Kodiaq and Superb coming out with 120km of range on batteries - it’s a game changer. A battery electric with no range anxiety - the best of both worlds.”

Skoda places significant hope on the arrival of its first battery electric, the Enyaq mid-size SUV, which it said will arrive before the end of the year.

2025 Skoda Enyaq

Merrigan said the Skoda customer base is “educated, not afraid to try something different, and potentially ready to lead the charge in changing vehicles in trying something new.”

He said this “early adopter mentality” has actually drawn people away from the brand in Australia in recent years as Skoda hasn’t had an electric car to offer them.

Skoda's sales have dropped in Australia by a significant margin in the first half of this year, down 25.7 per cent. Skoda is in the midst of a model renewal cycle, though, which will see fresh metal across its range over the next 18 months. 

This includes the Enyaq EV, facelifted Fabia and Scala hatchbacks, facelifted Octavia sedan and wagon and new-generation versions of its Kodiaq SUV and Superb sedan and wagon. In a presentation, the brand said it was possible we might see its yet-to-be-unveiled Elroq small electric SUV before the end of 2025.