Skoda is selling a new entry-level version of the Enyaq battery-electric SUV in Europe, partly in response to Tesla’s recent price cuts for its electric cars.
Skoda's Enyaq 50 reduces the battery pack size to 52 kilowatt hours, bringing its starting price below 40,000 euros ($44,000) at 39,990 euros in Germany. The Enyaq previously started at 48,900 euros in Germany for the long-range 80 model.
The move will counter price reductions that Tesla began in January, said Skoda’s head of sales and marketing, Martin Jahn.
Tesla’s price cuts reduced the entry price of its Model Y SUV to 44,890 euros in Germany, putting it below the cheapest Enyaq 80.
“Of course, it is in response to Tesla price cuts, but also some markets were asking us bring a cheaper car with a shorter range,” Jahn told Automotive News Europe.
The 50 has a range of 366 km (227 miles) compared to 542 km for the 80. The cheapest Model Y is rated at 455 km.
Adding an entry model was a smarter move than cutting prices, Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told journalists at the brand’s headquarters in Mlada Boleslav, near Prague.
“With Tesla reducing the price in the steps they have done so far, the residual value drops by exactly what they drop the price, demolishing [used] values. That is certainly not our strategy,” Zellmer said.