Skoda car is said to be in talks with SAIC Motor, owner of brands such as MG and LDV, to borrow technology for upcoming plug-in hybrid models scheduled for sale in the Chinese market.
Volkswagen Group is the latest Western brand to seek help from China for its future products, following in the footsteps of its siblings Audi and Volkswagen, which last year signed deals with SAIC and Xpeng respectively.
Chinese store Home automation It is reported that Skoda wants to use SAIC’s new DMH Super Hybrid Technology to launch PHEV models in China that are more suitable for local market needs.
Parent company Volkswagen Group has a long-standing partnership with SAIC to sell Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda vehicles in China. The SAIC-Volkswagen joint venture has been in operation since 1984.
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Skoda Awesome
The news comes amid slowing sales for Skoda in China. Its local product line-up includes Great, Octavia, Karoq, Vietnameseand the Kodiaq GT, and from a peak of 352,000 sales in 2018, the brand dropped to 44,062 in 2022.
Falling sales are said to have prompted Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer to consider pulling out of the Chinese market by 2022, although Home automation The report said no final decision has been made and the brand continues to maintain “ongoing and constructive dialogue” with SAIC-Volkswagen.
While Skoda currently sells PHEV versions of the Superb and Kodiaq in Europe with Volkswagen Group powertrains, there is currently no such option available for China.
SAIC’s DMH system, which can be found on the Roewe D5X and D7, combines a naturally aspirated or turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor.
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Roewe D5X
In the Roewe D5X, the 21.4kWh battery allows the car to travel on electric power for 135km on the CLTC cycle and a total combined range of 1300km.
The D5X is the PHEV version of the non-hybrid Roewe RX5, which has just arrived in Australia with the same unique front-end styling as the second generation. Kindergarten.
The PHEV version is expected to launch next year.
Skoda’s talks with SAIC follow similar talks by the Volkswagen brand, Pair with Xpeng by 2023 to jointly design two “fully connected” electric vehicles (EVs) specifically for the Chinese market.
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Roewe D7
These two electric models will be mid-size sedans expected to launch in early 2026.
Audi also Cooperation with SAIC in the same month, allowing the German brand to use an EV platform developed by SAIC’s luxury brand IM Motors for its upcoming models.
In recent years, the Chinese market has seen domestic brands invest heavily in electrification and become much more competitive and popular, stealing sales from automakers from elsewhere.
Not only that, Chinese brands like SAIC have been aggressively expanding their global presence, leading to the United States, Canada, and the European Union imposing additional tariffs on Chinese vehicles.
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