It’s safe to say a new Citigo is long overdue if you take into consideration Skoda’s entry-level car has been around for approximately eight years. The Czech marque part of the Volkswagen empire is about to take the wraps off a heavily modified version of its pint-sized car, even though the styling suggests it’s more of the same. A design sketch announcing the imminent reveal of the zero-emissions Citigo was released today to signal Skoda’s EV ambitions.

Skoda isn’t going into any details just yet, but the adjacent teaser shows the exterior design will be largely carried over from the conventionally powered model. One change we’re able to notice is the closed-off grille, which isn’t really all that surprising taking into account there’s no ICE underneath the hood to require cooling. Some subtle tweaks here and there are expected, but nothing to write home about. It goes without saying the actual car will have conventional door handles and will probably be offered strictly as a five-door hatchback.

A sister model of the VW e-up! and SEAT e-Mii, the new Citigo-e iV will offer 186 miles (300 kilometers) of range between charges, although it’s unclear whether that number is based on NEDC or the more realistic WLTP. Regardless, it will have way more range than its VAG siblings, which rely on an 18.7-kWh battery good for about 100 miles in ideal conditions.

If by any chance it will inherit the same electric motor, the Citigo sans ICE will offer 81 horsepower and an instant torque of 155 pound-feet (210 Newton-meters), which in the case of the e-up! is good for a sprint to 62 mph (100 kph) in 12.4 seconds. The battery pack in the VW lies in the floor and tips the scales at 230 kilograms (507 pounds), raising the total weight to 1,139 kg (2,511 lbs).

The Skoda Citigo-e iV will debut as a production model next week, specifically on Thursday, May 23. The debut is scheduled to take place at a dedicated even organized in Bratislava, Slovakia where the company’s first plug-in hybrid production car, the Superb PHEV, will also grace the stage. Information is scarce at this point, but the electrified derivative of the marque’s flagship is expected to inherit the plug-in hybrid powertrain from the recently facelifted VW Passat GTE for the European market. It will go by the name of Superb iV and will probably combine a 1.4 TSI gasoline engine with an electric motor and a 13-kWh battery pack for an electric range of 34 miles (55 kilometers) based on the WLTP cycle.

Source: Skoda