Škoda plugged into hybrid future

Škoda Auto will unveil 30 new models by the end of 2022. Those who worry that the country's economy depends on this company's ability to stay on top of the changes confronting the automobile sector will be relieved to know that 10 of the new models will be electric cars. Škoda Auto's boss Bernhard Maier told Hospodářské noviny that it would begin selling a hybrid version of the omnipresent Octavia in 2020 and that the Citigo microcar will no longer be sold with gasoline engines. (The Citigo will be delivered with a new battery good for 300 km.) Škoda Auto will be spending CZK 52bn between now and 2022 on the development of automobiles with alternative sources of power. In March it will introduce its electric SUV concept in Geneva and in April it will show off a hybrid Superb.