“Skoda Fabia could be pulled from range due to Euro 7 emissions regulations, says CEO Klaus Zellmer”

​Several car industry executives have stated in recent months that it will no longer be economically profitable to produce small-class petrol or diesel cars such as the Polo or Fabia from 2025 if Euro 7 standards are imposed in the strictest version. Now the Skoda boss says the Fabia could be pulled from the range in a few years because it would become too expensive.

Klaus Zellmer, CEO of Skoda, says, UK Coach appointment, that the Fabia model will no longer be able to be kept at an acceptable price, if the Euro 7 norms will have to come into force in the strict version proposed now. Why? Because a series of diagnostic technologies and catalysts will have to be installed on the cars, which would raise the price by several thousand euros.

Zellmer says that the price of the Fabia model could reach 20,000 pounds (about 22,000 euros), and this level is unacceptable to the customer.

The new Euro 7 rules should come into force on 1 July 2025 and the aim is for NOx emissions to be reduced by 35% compared to Euro 6 cars. At the same time, tailpipe particulates will be reduced by 13 % for cars, say those from the EU.

It must be said that in recent years, both new and SH cars have become more expensive by several thousand euros and the number of new models that you can buy if you have a budget of 15-17,000 euros has decreased. Small city cars, which four to five years ago cost from 12-13,000 euros new, currently cost from 16-17,000 euros.

In Romania, the Skoda Fabia costs from 16,100 euros, in the basic version with a 1.0 MPi gasoline engine, 80 HP. The Style 1.0 TSI DSG variant, 110 HP, costs 20,800 euros.

It seems unlikely that these rules can be enforced from 2025, given the controversy surrounding them and the opposition of the car sector, which has great influence on governments and lobbies heavily. There are also influential voices from the automotive world who said that there is no point in introducing these Euro 7 norms, given that the ranges will be electrified anyway, by 2035.

The Skoda Fabia found around 90,000 customers in Europe last year. The best years for this model were between 2004 and 2006 and 2008 and 2009, when sales exceeded 200,000 units.

In November 2022, Volkswagen boss Thomas Schäfer said that models like the Polo may not be produced after 2025, because Euro 7 rules could add 5,000 euros to the cost of a car.

EU figures estimated that including these new technologies would add around €300 to the car’s cost, but builders say it would be in the thousands.

​Another Skoda official said in March that the car brand would have to close a plant in the Czech Republic and abandon several models, if the Euro 7 pollution rules are adopted in the strictest version proposed.

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