Škoda's EUR1.9 bn profit vs SEAT-Cupra's EUR6 m: VW Group's diverging paths

By Sophie Lindqvist

EUR1.9 billion in operating profit for the first nine months of 2026 — that is the gap-defining number at Škoda Auto, while SEAT and Cupra together managed six million euro over the same period. The three Spanish- and Czech-based Volkswagen Group divisions present a sharply split picture of product plans stretching to 2036.

Škoda has withdrawn from China after years of steep decline, yet it keeps adding models in Europe, India and other markets. The new Epiq, a small electric SUV built in Spain by SEAT S.A., is off to a good start. Notably, Škoda has no equivalent of the Cupra Raval or VW ID. Polo; small battery-electric cars appear off the agenda, with only SUVs in that segment.

The ICE (internal combustion engine) B-segment cars live on. Fabia and Kamiq gain longer life cycles than originally planned, and the Scala should stay until 2030 or 2031.

What is happening in India?

The Kylaq, just under four metres long, launched in March 2025 and sells well. It uses a 1.0-litre engine and was the third vehicle on MQB-A0-IN, an India-specific low-cost platform. A refresh is due in 2028 and the second generation in 2032. The Slavia and Kushaq, facelifted earlier in 2026, should see successors in 2029 or 2030.

How did the Elroq change Czech production?

The Elroq, launched in the first half of last year, forced a rejig at home. To free space for this C-segment electric SUV at the main factory beside the HQ, a second Octavia line came online at Kvasiny. Mladá Boleslav now builds Octavia, Enyaq and Elroq on one line.

The Peaq, a large-ish electric SUV, entered production in August. Its life cycle should run to 2034, with a restyle in 2030 and extra variants between 2027 and 2029.

The Octavia remains the best seller: 138,000 units to end-September, mostly in Europe, for a model dating to 2020. Škoda has just announced its first hybrid powertrain. The replacement is due in 2028, previewed by the electric Vision O estate concept at last year's Munich motor show, said to use the Volkswagen Group's forthcoming SSP platform. Some believe the hatchback will not be replaced.

The second best seller, the 4.8 m Kodiaq, faces a 2028 facelift and a third generation at the start of 2032 — probably the first electric Kodiaq, still built at Kvasiny and Aurangabad. The Superb, with more than 50,000 deliveries in the first three quarters of 2026, gets a 2028 refresh; its successor is not due until 2031 or 2032.

Is SEAT winding down?

Rumours of the brand's end have circulated for years. SEAT S.A. CEO Markus Haupt insisted as recently as October that no such decision had been taken. Product development beyond mild hybrid engines for Ibiza and Arona in 2027 looks thin. The Ateca is over a decade old; the Leon, new in 2020, was facelifted in 2024. Restyled Arona and Ibiza rolled out of Martorell last December, but both cars turn ten in 2027. The logical conclusion: models going out of production one by one during 2027, 2028 and 2029.

What next for Cupra?

Six models are on sale — Raval, Born, Tavascan, Leon, Formentor and Terramar — three of them EVs. More are coming.

• The Tindaya SUV, shown as a 2025 concept, survived the Group's budget cuts; the 4.7-4.8 m EV on the SSP platform launches in 2029, slightly delayed.
• An unnamed 4.9-5.0 m flagship EV, around the size of a BMW X5, arrives in 2031 with six- and seven-seat options.
• The Raval, in production at Martorell since June, belongs to the Electric Urban Car Family (EUCF) alongside ID. Polo, ID. Cross and Epiq. Each EUCF model runs seven to eight years: a 2030 facelift and 2033-34 replacement for the Raval.
• The Born, rear-wheel-drive twin of the ID. 3 Neo, had a mid-life update with build at Zwickau from May; the 4.3 m hatchback may last to the early 2030s with a second facelift in 2029.
• The China-built Tavascan, platform-linked to ID.4 and ID.5, gained a 58 kWh battery and 140 kW motor; a major facelift and relaunch in 2027 could extend life to 2030-31, with the successor built in Spain or Germany.

One question remains open: a tiny Cupra EV alongside the future ID. UP at Autoeuropa in Palmela, Portugal, where production starts in late 2027. A sub-four-metre Cupra for 2028 or 2029, pitched against the Alpine A290, would make sense.

What to watch: Haupt's insistence against SEAT's decline will be tested by 2027 model decisions, the Vision O's SSP platform confirms whether the electric Octavia estate proceeds, and the Tindaya's 2029 launch signals whether Cupra's expansion survives further Group cost reviews.