Skoda Oz says no Fabia RS coming, hints at future electric version

Let’s get the bad news out of the way.

When Skoda’s all-new generation Fabia arrives next year it won’t offer an RS variant.

However, this comes with a positive twist. We’re hearing Skoda might later jolt the little pocket rocket back to life with its future electric-vehicle range.

At least that’s what product manager Peter Kincer put to MOTOR recently at the Octavia RS245 launch.

“Unfortunately there are no plans [for a Fabia RS] at the moment. It just can’t sell in Europe,” he says.

Volkswagen’s Czech subsidiary created its second fast Fabia in 2010 after deriving it from the fifth generation Polo GTI.

It had the same 1.4-litre twin-charged four mated to a light front-drive chassis that drove the VW to BFYB top spot two years in a row.

However, while the Skoda Fabia RS was successful Down Under, even with a wagon version it couldn’t sell in Europe and was discontinued in 2014.

“When you get a small car usually you don’t want to pay a lot of registration fees because everything is based on kilowatts in Europe.

“So when you have a small car and you get strong engine, you’d rather get a bigger car because it’s the cost and everything.”

But electric power would help Skoda side step this problem, Peter continues.

“Maybe you know with the electric cars when it comes, [Fabia RS] might be an option.”

How a small hatch will turn emissions-free technology into performance isn’t very clear.

“It would be just electric. I don’t think the hybrid, personally, has a big future.”

“There will be a choice [of motor], but not a great choice, and of course the battery range isn’t such a [priority], but it’s still a little bit far.”

Given his speculative tone, this information should be taken with a grain of salt. However, there’s been a buzz about the brand regarding its green-focused future.

Skoda’s CEO Bernd Maier recently announced it will begin manufacturing electric and hybrid vehicles from 2019 for the Volkswagen group, with the first model to be produced at its Czech-based Mlada Boleslav site.

It will then charge towards a five-strong full-electric vehicle range by 2025, which should be just about when the Polo, and thus Fabia, are due for an all-new update.