EV Sales up 52% with all the latest SIMI Numbers, Skoda Peaq Interviews with Martin Jahn and Björn Kröll, Renault Twingo Interview with Vittorio D'Arienzo and Driving the Kia EV2
EV Sales up 52% with all the latest SIMI Numbers, Skoda Peaq Interviews with Martin Jahn and Björn Kröll, Renault Twingo Interview with Vittorio D'Arienzo and Driving the Kia EV2
SAMI numbers kick things off with EV registrations up 52% year-on-year in Ireland for March 2026, while petrol and diesel slide sharply. Plug-in models keep gaining share, and the top sellers include Tesla Model 3/Y, plus the new Toyota C-HR and Kia EV3. Derek Riley then shares interviews from Škoda and Renault: Škoda’s execs discuss EV driver behavior, charging reassurance, and the brand’s dealer-first approach, while Björn Grill digs into the new 7-seat electric Škoda PEAK’s practicality and tech. The Renault Twingo EV gets a deep dive on efficiency, LFP battery strategy, and lightweight development. Kia EV2 and an upcoming Nevo driving experience round it out.
Welcome back to the Nevo EV News Podcast. If it's Tuesday it must be Nevo EV News Day. My name is Derek Reilly and on this podcast we chat all about EV. Nevo is Ireland's only dedicated EV platform and we'll be covering where we were this week, what we've been driving and what we've been doing between podcasts. If you haven't already subscribed or followed us wherever you are listening please do so and if you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and comment, it really helps us out and it doesn't cost you anything. Let's get stuck in.
"... week so I'm able to talk about it I was also in Twingo land with Ibita and with Renault So I've got an ..."
The Renault Twingo is a small car made for city driving. Because it’s compact, it’s easier to park and drive in tight spaces. People talk about it when they want to discuss how a small car feels to drive.
The Renault Twingo is a small city car focused on easy maneuvering and compact dimensions. It’s often discussed in the context of driving impressions because small cars are especially noticeable in how they handle tight streets. In a podcast, it may come up as part of a “time behind the wheel” or model-focused segment.
"we're also going to be chatting about the upcoming Nevo driving experience in partnership with Bank of Ireland that's happening in Kildare at the end of April"
Bank of Ireland is partnering with Nevo for the driving event. That usually means they’re helping promote EV adoption, possibly through financing or customer programs.
Bank of Ireland is mentioned as a partner for the upcoming Nevo driving experience. In EV contexts, bank partnerships can signal financing, incentives, or broader consumer programs that reduce the barrier to buying an EV.
"Seen back in the sienna with an available rear seat entertainment system"
A rear seat entertainment system is a setup (often screens and audio) designed to keep passengers occupied in the back. In family vehicles like minivans, it’s typically offered as an optional feature depending on trim.
"Slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go"
All-wheel drive means the car can send power to all four wheels. That usually helps it grip better on wet, snowy, or icy roads.
All-wheel drive (AWD) sends power to all four wheels to improve traction. It’s especially useful on slippery roads, and it’s a major differentiator for buyers comparing SUVs and crossovers.
Concept
EVs are up by 52%
"From the society of the Irish motor industry EVs are up by 52% versus march of last year"
They’re saying electric cars are selling/registering much more than they did last year. It’s a headline growth number for EV adoption.
This is a market-growth statement comparing EV registrations (or sales) versus the same month last year. It’s central to the episode’s theme: tracking how quickly EV adoption is accelerating.
"Over 39% of cars sold in march had a plug socket on it with one in four being fully electric"
Fully electric cars run on electricity only. They don’t use gasoline or diesel.
“Fully electric” refers to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) that run only on electricity, not gasoline or diesel. In the segment, it’s used to describe the share of sales that are true EVs rather than plug-in hybrids.
"Over 39% of cars sold in march had a plug socket on it with one in four being fully electric"
A plug socket means the car can be charged by plugging it in. That usually applies to plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars.
A “plug socket” indicates the vehicle can be charged externally via a plug—typical of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and fully electric vehicles (BEVs). This metric is used to quantify how many cars sold are capable of charging off the grid.
"And latest ev reviews over the past number of years ... Nevo is always focused on delivering the facts and benefits of switching to electric"
“Electric vehicles” is the umbrella term for cars powered by electricity, typically including battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and sometimes plug-in hybrids (depending on how the speaker uses it). In sales and adoption reporting, it’s the category being tracked for growth and consumer demand.
"the first question we asked him ... what do schoda know now about ev drivers and evs in general? ... we see that they are more technically savvy"
“EV drivers” refers to the people who choose and use electric vehicles, and their attitudes toward EV technology. The speaker contrasts them with other driver groups by describing them as more technically engaged and innovation-oriented.
"We see there's a lot of flow of customers from tesla to schoda"
Tesla is one of the biggest electric car brands. Here, they’re saying some people are switching from Tesla to another EV brand.
Tesla is a major EV manufacturer known for its battery-electric cars and large charging network footprint. In this segment, it’s used as a reference point for customer migration to other brands.
Concept
public charging vs home charging
"That was also shown how much time you save because if you charge at home at that work
You never go to gas station as normal people do with normal cars."
This is the difference between charging at public stations versus charging at home or work. The speaker’s message is that home/work charging makes EV life feel much less “stop-and-go.”
This is the practical tradeoff between using public charging stations and relying on home/work charging. The segment emphasizes that if you can charge at home (and sometimes at work), you avoid frequent stops that people associate with refueling.
"Not all technology though. You've got physical buttons, which a lot of people were really important"
Physical buttons are real, tactile controls for functions like climate, media, or driving settings. Many EVs and modern cars rely heavily on touchscreens, so physical buttons are often discussed as a usability and safety advantage.
"For everything, of course, it takes some time to position the brand in some countries. It's going very well
Countries like Austria or Switzerland or Denmark."
Brand positioning is basically the reputation a brand tries to build in people’s minds. Some countries “get it” faster than others. That can change how well the cars sell over time.
Brand positioning is how a company wants customers to perceive it—such as “cheap but good” versus “premium.” The host is saying it takes time to build that image in certain markets, even if the product and technology are strong. This affects how quickly sales and market rank improve country by country.
"[1252.2s] It was not the full production here. So we we launched the car in october 24 and then beginning of 25
[1258.7s] We were ramping up the production."
“Ramping up the production” means increasing manufacturing output after launch, often gradually as factories, supply chains, and quality processes stabilize. During ramp-up, sales rankings can look different because the car isn’t yet available in full volume. This affects how you interpret “best-selling” or “top-ranked” claims.
"...and we had the first market introduction
[1263.8s] Like I think germany was the first one at the very end of january"
“Market introduction” refers to when a vehicle starts being sold in a specific country/region. EV launch timing matters because early availability and supply constraints can skew comparisons between markets. It also affects how quickly real-world usage data accumulates for that region.
"...we also have the the heights of the roof line there
In order that we have really a high comfort of getting in and out."
Roof line height is how tall the car’s cabin feels. They’re saying a higher roofline can make it easier to climb in and out, especially in stop-and-go city driving.
“Roof line height” refers to how high the cabin sits relative to the ground. In this context, the speaker argues that a higher roofline improves comfort when entering and exiting—important for an urban-focused vehicle.
"Yeah, you have probably already seen our show car
Well, we showed it also at the ia of the epic"
A show car is a preview vehicle shown at events. It helps people see what the final car might look like before the real production version arrives.
A show car is a concept or pre-production vehicle displayed publicly to preview design and technology. The speaker says listeners may have already seen their show car, implying the production version is coming soon.
"...we are very soon in may
We will already unveil the the final production version"
The production version is the actual car that will be built and sold. They’re saying they’re close to revealing the final version after the earlier preview.
The “production version” is the final, mass-manufactured model that follows the show-car or concept stage. The speaker indicates they’ll unveil the production version soon, meaning the design and specs are moving from preview to reality.
"You find also seven seaters, but not in this kind of direction. So either they are much more expensive or much bigger"
Seven seaters are cars that can carry up to seven people. They’re saying there are cars like that, but they’re often either pricey or too big for the niche they’re targeting.
“Seven seaters” are vehicles with seating for up to seven people, usually larger SUVs or multi-row crossovers. The speaker compares their EV direction to existing options, noting that seven-seat vehicles exist but are often either much more expensive or much larger.
"Yeah, so I think we are having a sweet spot again
And when you look back at what kodiak did"
A “sweet spot” is the best middle ground. They’re saying their EV is aimed at the ideal balance of being practical and not too expensive or too large.
A “sweet spot” is the ideal balance of size, price, and practicality that attracts the most buyers. Here, the speaker argues their EV concept hits a market niche that competitors don’t cover well—neither too big nor too expensive.
"This is the maximum expression of our new design language which we call modern solid... Therefore peak is also the maximum expression of our design language"
“Modern solid” is the name of Skoda’s design style. It’s like a visual theme—how the brand shapes the car’s look so new models feel related.
“Modern solid” is described as Skoda’s new design language. Design languages are a set of styling principles (proportions, surfaces, lighting shapes) that make future models look consistent across a brand.
"You're missing the comfort level especially for the third seat row. So in and out is for a little bit taller people"
The third seat row refers to the rear-most seating area in a three-row vehicle. The speakers emphasize that adult comfort and ingress/egress (getting in and out) are key differentiators, especially in long-wheelbase electric designs.
"We had Leah from RG in the third row ... and I'm 188. ... you can really see that difference in that dedicated electric platform"
A dedicated electric platform is an EV-specific vehicle architecture designed from the ground up for batteries and electric drive components. The speakers attribute advantages like packaging and comfort (including third-row space) to this dedicated design rather than adapting an older gas-car layout.
"Practicality we have the first ever frunk ... there was a clear demand for a frunk in electric car"
A frunk is a front trunk—storage space in the front of the vehicle, made possible on many EVs because there’s no traditional engine compartment. The speakers call it the “first” frunk on their referenced electric platform/vehicle and describe it as meeting strong consumer demand.
"So you just push a button and then it basically shades Automatically it's like magic"
An electrochromatic system is a smart glass technology that changes tint electronically. Instead of separate sunshades, it can automatically darken the roof glass to reduce glare and heat while maintaining visibility.
"Next up where we are in Lisbon in Portugal driving the Kia EV2 ... 550 kilometer range can come in a standard range battery and a long range battery"
Kia EV2 is an electric Kia model they’re driving and discussing. They’re focusing on how far it can go on a charge and whether it’s offered as a 4-seat or 5-seat version.
The Kia EV2 is Kia’s upcoming electric vehicle being discussed in this segment. The hosts talk about its range options, seating configurations, and how pricing will influence whether buyers choose it.
"And I also asked in the video what people want and on the video a lot of four-seaters long range"
A “long range battery” means a bigger battery in an electric car that helps it drive farther before needing to recharge. People often want this even if it costs more.
“Long range battery” refers to an EV battery pack sized and/or configured to maximize driving range on a charge. In EV discussions, it usually implies a higher-capacity pack and often a higher price, but it’s what many buyers prioritize when choosing between trims or variants.
"Sing back in the sienna with an available rear seat entertainment system"
The Toyota Sienna is a minivan. The ad mentions it can come with entertainment screens for passengers in the back seats.
The Toyota Sienna is a minivan mentioned in the ad for its available rear seat entertainment system. Minivans like the Sienna are often chosen for family practicality, and rear-seat tech is a common selling point for road trips.
"Slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go"
The Toyota RAV4 is a popular compact SUV. The ad is highlighting that it can be equipped with all-wheel drive for better traction.
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact SUV referenced in the ad, specifically in connection with available all-wheel drive. It’s a mainstream model often chosen for versatility, and AWD is a key option for traction in rain, snow, or rougher conditions.
"For many oms has been very ... the struggle to make profits in such a segment ... you need to offer all the ... adders and safety and nvh"
“A-segment” is the label for the smallest cars in Europe—mostly city cars. The speaker’s point is that it’s tough to make money there because you still have to include lots of modern features, but the selling price stays low.
“A-segment” is a European market classification for the smallest mass-market cars (often city cars). The speaker discusses how profitability is hard in this segment because manufacturers must include modern features (safety, comfort, noise/harshness) while still selling at lower prices.
"So you can easily see that if you start with a 30 kilowatt hour battery for example and you make this exercise"
That “kilowatt-hour” number tells you how much energy the EV’s battery can store. More kWh usually means more potential range, though real-world range also depends on efficiency and aerodynamics.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a unit of energy, and in EVs it describes the size of the battery pack. Starting with a 30 kWh battery and then re-running an exercise is a way to estimate how usable energy and range change with battery capacity.
"Dear crew it's toyota with an adult-sized third row everyone's welcome in the grand highlander"
This is a bigger Toyota SUV with three rows of seats. The point they’re making is that the back seats are big enough for adults, not just kids.
The Toyota Grand Highlander is a larger three-row SUV built to fit more passengers comfortably than smaller crossovers. In this segment, it’s mentioned as having an “adult-sized third row,” which is a key selling point for families who actually need usable rear seating.
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Welcome back to the Nevo EV news podcast. If it's Tuesday, it must be Nevo EV Newsday on this week's podcast
We are going to be talking about the S.I.M.I.'s new Q1 oil march numbers
But overall Q numbers as well for the start of the year
I was looking up to be last week in Italy driving the all-new
Škoda peak which comes in a five and a seven seater. We've got a couple of interviews for that
I also recently drove the Kia EV2 and Bargo lifted at the start of the week so I'm able to talk about it
I was also in Twingo land with Ibita and with Renault
So I've got an interview with the head of the Ampere EV division soon to be all of Renault cars division
and
we're also going to be chatting about the upcoming Nevo
driving experience in partnership with Bank of Ireland that's happening in Kildare at the end of April
For those who don't know, my name is Derek Riley and on this podcast we chat about all things electric vehicles
I let Nevo's Ireland's only dedicated EV platform
And we'll be covering wherever we were this week what we've been driving and what we've been doing between the podcasts
If you haven't already subscribed or followed us wherever you're listening to please do so
And if you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a rating and comment and really helps us out and it doesn't cost you anything
You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind
Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet drivers who switch and save with progressive save over
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Dear crew it's Toyota with an adult-sized third row everyone's welcome in the Grand Highlander
From sports fans to eco buffs and movie fans
Seen back in the sienna with an available rear seat entertainment system
Slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go
Toyota find yours at toyota.com
Toyota let's go places
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So straight into the Siamese numbers so for march
2026
From the society of the Irish motor industry EVs are up by 52% versus march of last year
PH EVs slightly down at 8% down 8% versus march of 2025
petrol sales down 38% diesel sales down 36%
Electric was the most
Sorry second most popular fuel type sold in march after hybrid combustion
Over 39% of cars sold in march had a plug socket on it with one in four being fully electric
Electric has been registered more than pure petrol and pure diesel
top five models for march 2026 are tesla model 3 tesla model y in first and second place end of quarter
Tesla do it slightly different so it's always a quarterly run they do and it's always the last month of a quarter
third place is the all-new Toyota chr plus
A couple of videos up on the channel for that lots of interest in it
fourth place the key EV 3
Seeing lots of them on the road and then in fifth place we have the schoda l-rock so far this year high on that are the best selling electric vehicle brand
in 2026
And let me pull up the details with regards to what happened so far in first quarter
so
Overall car sales held steady ish slightly down
At about 65 000 units registered for the first quarter of 2026
And if you take the quarterly figure battery electric vehicles are a growth of 41 percent
And on the quarter also the second most popular fuel choice
um
So far in 2026 cars powered by solely by electricity are more popular than petrol and diesel fuel vehicles
And they're in third and fifth place
Plug-in electric vehicles are in fourth place the most popular electric models so far
If you take the full quarter are the id4 the key of ev3 the hunday insta the toyota bz and the hunday kona
Honourable mention going to the bydc line seven in seventh place which wasn't available last year so to come in
But right towards the very end it was available, but it's already in the top 10
The most popular electric brands this year so far are hunday number one vote swagger number two
Key at third place byd in fourth place and tesla in fifth place
Every single county in the country has seen growth in electric car registrations with
Three of the top movers being rascammon cavern and kill kenny
Uh, so year on year march 25th versus march 25 with nevo's witness a significant increase in vehicle
Visitor traffic to the website
35 growth in new visitors to nevo ireland's only dedicated platform as we always mention
People reviewing nevo's educational content and visitor traffic
Jumped by 457 across social media channels
And that was a further 99 visitors increase from google searches as well. So
Simon andri said he the md of nevo
Stated nevo hasn't just reacted to the recent fuel crisis our team has stayed consistent with providing leading educational content
And latest ev reviews over the past number of years
Nevo is always focused on delivering the facts and benefits of switching to electric which has never been more demand than now
With the current in circumstance
Current uncertainties in fuel prices coupled with wider consumer demand and a wide selection of electric vehicles now available
2026 is poised to be a substantial
level of growth for consumer adoption of electric motoring
so
big numbers from simi big numbers in the electric vehicle side of things and
Happy to keep reporting on all of these positive trends
next up we have
the interview and relations interviews in relation to schoda
and first up we had an interview with
One of the board members of schoda
Let me pull up his name here now so that way I get it right. It's martin yann
And he's the board member for schoda for sales and marketing
And the first question we asked him what it was a group interview was what do schoda know now about ev drivers and evs in general?
we
Did you have an ev lounge ever re-communicate with them? So basically we see that they are
More technically savvy. They know more about the technology. They they like to communicate more. They are innovators. So it's a different
breed
Of people. They are much more innovative
They're also younger. So I think we through electric mobility. We we are winning many new customers new customer groups
We see there's a lot of flow of customers from tesla to schoda
Uh, which is also quite nice
and they they want to they just want to communicate now and they they
They are of course focused on charging the speed of charging
The the cost of charging how you use the car
but the real data show that all the
Fears that people have about charging how to use the car how impractical it is
in real life
It's it's okay because you don't always you don't always drive from
From Dublin to
Split in Croatia or to Tuscany
I mean and for normal driving especially in island, but Czech Republic is also very small
It's it's okay. And when you go once two times a year to
Austria for skiing or to Italy for vacation
You either take another car or you just spent
few
A few minutes or a few hours charging
What people don't realize is that how much because many people charge at home
That was also shown how much time you save because if you charge at home at that work
You never go to gas station as normal people do with normal cars. So you spend many
A lot of time throughout the year. So it's uh, I think it's it's very mental thing
mental attitude that you want to drive
The electric car or not. So what we are learning is so hopefully for charge
We also learned that the that the that the battery lasts longer, you know five years ago. There was a lot of
Worries about you know the battery being dead after
Five years. So now we have
taxi drivers and in Nordic countries who drove
200 300 400 000 kilometers the battery is is is okay
It's just it just shows that that that electric mobility is is is okay. It's practical for normal life
I think our customers they still want to have a car, right? We were never happy tesla used to be very modern with many features in the beginning
But people always said, you know, it's the the technology the the the software is very cool
But the car itself the driving is not as good and what we deliver always is a great car
It's a practical car with a lot of room, which is easy to handle
Which has good residual values. So in terms of providing a car, it's it's okay
And we were missing some of the features, but people were basically happy about how the car drives
How much you can put into the car how reliable the car is
How good is the service and communication with our dealers, which is also a very strong advantage
That's why we also we were the first one in the
Volkswagen group to say we didn't want to have agency system. We want to stay with our dealers
Which was I think the right the right step
So this is I think the the customers appreciate the the practicality and how how well the car drives
With second-seater being such an important market with the Kodiak set of things
There's a lot resting on the peak and making sure that it hits the right price point. Yes
Uh
Yes, but it's the car offers a lot
So maybe we are not talking about the price exactly. It will be more expensive than any act and as a rich koda
I think you will get a good value for money. Is it going to be a cheap car now?
But if you look at how the car looked like
The interior all the features that it has it will be a good package
Yeah, we did we believed it. We did uplift the brand
Four years ago when we launched the modern solid the new design the new logo the new colors
New approach to sales. I think we are uplifting the brand. We
We are not saying we are premium brand, but I think we
Offer a premium design and quality for a very reasonable price
It's not it's not like we want to directly compete with bmw or with Mercedes
But we see in the NCBS that many customers are coming to us from these brands
Ishkoda is very well established in the fleet for user choosers. We we basically
Realize over 60 of ourselves to corporate clients
And then it's up to the up to the user choosers to select the car and we are very highly ranked
So as a business car people Ishkoda has loved and
Superf and Kodiak played a big role for management cars
and
and we believe that
That the people fill this role because we didn't have anything electric and yeah, it's nice, but
For senior management, you need even a bigger car for people who have family and use the business car for family as well
This is this is perfect. So we will basically get to a new
Customer group and I think it will work
Not everybody wants SUV. So Ishkoda are very popular with combis. Yeah, we saw the vision at IAA last
Still on the cards. Yes, the combi will come
eventually but
the SUV segment is
Is strong and stronger. So we will need to believe in combi and we will have electric combi
One day, but it makes more sense to start with SUVs and this is
This car is a SUV like it's an SUV, but it's not a numbered SUV. It's a
You can call it or whatever crossover. It's like
It's it's a little bit like from the inside
MPV and probably outside
SUV
Not all technology though. You've got physical buttons, which a lot of people were really important
Yeah, the physical buttons are important and I think also the
I think the new philosophy of putting of the all important
elements in the lower part of the screen where you can just rest your hand
on the console and
Work with that. So I think the
and in the
The the ergonomical concept how you work with the car was always very important to to Ishkoda
So it's I think this will this will work. We took this
Up to the next level now. We you ask for a body
Whether we are moving up to the premium
brand category
You don't like to think about it like like this. We are uplifting the brand
We are improving everything and whether you want to call us volume or premium or semi premium
We don't care. We want to bring everything to the customer
At the best quality and everything the customer needs
The little surprises you love. So there are many things that the premium brands have in the interior
You will not find here. Those are mostly things you do not really need. You know, they don't they are not practical
Ishkoda focuses on the practical people who want to have beautiful things, but the
Prestige is not it's not so important and
Everything see
You know 30 years ago when Volkswagen bought Škoda people were buying Škoda because it was cheap then
It improved with Volkswagen technology and many people were buying it as cheaper Volkswagen
And we didn't wonder that that's why we made all these changes. So people buy Škoda because it's Škoda
It's because it's cheaper Volkswagen
And that also reduces the
The substitution with Volkswagen. I don't think that we we have much. We are just next to next to it
On the same level. We don't feel like being below in terms of technology or
For everything, of course, it takes some time to position the brand in some countries. It's going very well
Countries like Austria or Switzerland or Denmark. We are already number two or number three
So we made it with the image in some countries. It's taking longer like southern Europe. It takes longer
UK is picking up now where we are growing Ireland
Thanks to Martin for his time and Ray Levde from Škoda Ireland for arranging that interview
It was also just at the end there. He was talking about the performance of Škoda around Europe and
In western Europe Škoda Ireland is the number one and performing very well
But also on par if not better than Volkswagen. So keep an eye out for that
You're listening to this podcast. So I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact
You might not know yet drivers who switch and save with progressive save over 900 dollars on average
Pop over to progressive.com answer some questions and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by
In fact 99 of their auto customers earn at least one discount visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back
progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates national average 12 month savings by
$946 by new customers surveyed who saved with progressive between june 2024 and may 2025 potential savings will vary
Dear crew, it's Toyota with an adult-sized third row. Everyone's welcome in the grand Highlander
From sports fans to eco buffs and movie fans
Seen back in the sienna with an available rear seat entertainment system
slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go
Toyota find yours at toyota.com
Toyota let's go places
Also spoke to Bjorn when we were there
Hi, my name is Bjorn Grill and I work for Skoda since more than 10 years and I take care of the worldwide product marketing at Skoda
A nice day today in Italy with your
top of your range model
An aptly named peak. Yeah, what a coincidence
Now a change of the naming format because a lot of your other
Electric models began with e all of them. I'll rock a peak and yak
Uh and ended in q. Yeah, this one still ends in q because it's an suv, right?
But no e at the front. Can you explain why? Yeah, we did it on purpose obviously
So so when when we had this peak idea
We thought we break the rule because this car breaks all the rules what we have done so far
And I think there could not have been any better name to describe what this name is
meant to be for Skoda
Yeah, it's the peak of the line is the peak what we have ever done is the best of the best
And the the name basically describes what the car is meant to be in our portfolio
Before we dive into the actual vehicle itself
We had a cover drive of today yet some interesting statistics in your presentation with regards to
Uh, what people are looking for in range what people are looking for what regards to seven-seater
Can you talk me through some of those beyond? Yeah the the figures you have seen this is actual data from inyak users
So um the if people agree to this
They we can then monitor the actual usage of data. Of course everything is
Anonym and we cannot track anybody back or so anything
But because of this we can basically really track the real usage of inyaks in the field
Yeah, and of course from this we are learning a lot. So we we not just have
A few consumer surveys. We have suddenly have hundreds of thousands data points
Yeah, because we can have the data from all our
Electric cars in the field and therefore we see how they use the car in reality in terms of charging
And we are optimizing then also the charging curves accordingly
And we are trying to learn from this how how electric cars are used in reality because I mean when when everything started back in
2021 when we launched inyak to be honest, we had very little experience
Nobody had I mean I would go so far that that was for sure or the big I remember like when we when we did inyak
And we started like 17 18 working on on the project etc. And I said at that time to my boss is like
I know but uh, I know we don't have an electric car here
But sorry, we need to rent one and a long term. It cannot be I cannot be in charge to cannot do product management for an electric car
And not have a battery and I've never really driven besides one or two hours
So that was already how we so then we said, okay the people who are working on an electric car
Project we have to give them as much as possible access to electric cars and not just for two hours
They have to experience in the real world
Yeah, because one thing is if you drive a car just around the corner of you really live with it
If you'd really do the charging if you know what it means driving during winter times and all this so
And of course, so we learned a lot from them
And I mean you you can see that inyak and el rock I guess doing quite well in the market
So we have done quite okay on that right doing better than quite well now el rock phenomenal success in
25 second in europe. Yeah, we have second best electric car last year and you have to take into account that
It was not the full production here. So we we launched the car in october 24 and then beginning of 25
We were ramping up the production. So even though and we had the first market introduction
Like I think germany was the first one at the very end of january
Where the very first cars hit the dealership?
But we still became number two in europe unbelievable
It shows it was a real people like that suv farm that likes the size and with inyak and el rock
You're now expanding that lineup. We're going to be talking about peak in a minute, but we have a covered epic here as well
At the smaller end of the scale, but not a small care
Size-wise it is small size wise. It's actually not that much bigger than the fabia. Yeah, it's four meter
It's four meter 17, right? So in terms of overall length. I think it's like
The fabia is something like for 10 for 11. So it's really just a few centimeters longer. It's actually smaller than a kameek
Whoa, yeah, but the impression of course is a different one
Of course, it's especially meant to be an urban car. So therefore and you know, you know us schkoda
We we like to have the comfort and getting in and out and especially in an urban environment
You're getting in and out a lot. Yeah, so therefore we also have the the heights of the roof line there
In order that we have really a high comfort of getting in and out. It also helps the design
Yeah, you have probably already seen our show car
Well, we showed it also at the ia of the epic and we are very soon in may
We will already unveil the the final production version
So the epic was then the lower end of electric cars where we wanted to extend
But of course, we also wanted to put like the cherry on the cake
That obviously you have driven today at the cover drive cherry on the cake
We call it peak as the name describes everything we think is a very unique offer
In our portfolio and I we try to show you also
In terms of competition. Yes, because I believe something like this is not existing in the environment
You find also seven seaters, but not in this kind of direction. So either they are much more expensive or much bigger
Yeah, so I think we are having a sweet spot again
And when you look back at what kodiak did kodiak is also when you when you check the data kodiak is the best-selling
Seven-seater SUV in the ice segment
And and therefore we are convinced we can just do it again
And we are convinced the the peak will be the best-selling seven-seater in the market
This is this is our prediction for next year. So give me some of the
Highlights on the peak starting maybe from the roof coming down or from the front to the back
Which would you prefer to do so that in your memory, you know the peaks that we're talking about
I mean first of all in peak everything is peak and we have shown you today in our in our power point briefing
We have basically shown you all these kind of highlights and it it starts
When we start from the outside, of course, it starts first of all with our modern design language
Yeah, so peak is basically the production version of vision 7s going back to august 22 when represented to the public
And we explained everyone that this is
This is the maximum expression of our new design language which we call modern solid
Therefore peak is also the maximum expression of our design language
So therefore if you if the people who are listening to it can already imagine
They know how inyak and edrock now looks today and I guess you have seen it now
So I guess you can agree we have taken it to a next level again
Yeah, so it it clearly has a lot of similarity to our let's say first iteration of modern solid
But you can see how modern solid moves on
Yes
And you and you can also see how it how it sits in between what we have also shown at the vision o at the IAA
Yeah, so you see edrock inyak of today
You see where vision o is and you see how everything evolves into this kind of vision o direction
And and and peak is clearly going and epic as well
In this kind of direction. We got to see peak today. I can't talk too much about it. I haven't seen uncovered epic
So I can't talk about that either but size wise it is
slightly bigger than kodiak
It actually is it's 11 centimeters. It's 11 centimeters, but I guess more important than 11 centimeters on the overall length
Is we are almost 20 centimeters super precise 17 centimeters bigger on the wheelbase
It's around three meters at the wheelbase
And that gives the comfort level probably if you have ever used the kodiak
You're missing the comfort level especially for the third seat row. So in and out is for a little bit taller people
Yeah, maybe difficult. So so and that's probably the reason why they say, okay
The kodiak is fine for children to put there but not for adults, but I would say in a peak
If it not if it's not maybe a two meter
basketball player
But then I guess it's also fine
We had Leah from RG in the third row and I was in the second row and the front row was set up for me
And I'm 188. So you can really see that difference in that dedicated electric platform
Yeah, yeah, so that's a big advantage of this long wheelbase
Practicality we have the first ever
frunk
Right. So as I mentioned during my presentation, we have been bothered so many times, but you showed us the wrong word now question
But I can tell you also
Also by of course the consumers and there was a clear demand for a frunk in electric car
And we understand from product management that of course that makes perfect sense
I can tell you there always have been technical reasons why never that would be the case
But but now then we this time bothered so much the engineers
Yeah
Until they came up with an idea how we can fit finally a frunk very good on this platform
And now pika finally has got as a first dish go to electric a frunk and that will come standard
So every peak will have a frunk going down to the other end. It has a really practical
Boot or as we said earlier a trunk as I say in some markets
So with the third row up nearly 300 litres and then with this hard row down a thousand litres
With a the ability of moving the chairs front and back in the second row. So again super practical
I mean, I would say that's a little bit our dna, right? So scota always has been very practical
Of course with peak we want to be
Put this also on the peak that's clear. Yeah, and um, yeah
So we had like with vision 7s
We really have families in mind who need it
Because of the amount of children they have or because of the amount the stuff they have to carry around
But as well, we also but it's also a very suitable car for people with a very active lifestyle
So if you want to put bicycle or other kind of sport equipment there, it's just the space is just there
And as we told you internally the project was called space so you can see it was on purpose called like this internally
Just to make all the engineers clear what really the the target of this is and obviously
Once the listeners will see it for the first time, of course, they will get very much aware of that really there is a
Lot of space in this car
Also practicality two ton towing capability. So a lot of boxes being ticked here rear wheel drive all wheel drive
Big battery the biggest that scota have ever had so far 91 kilowatt hours cross battery
So big range of over 600 kilometers in such a big car. Yeah, like it's you're
Moving on the inside then we have the largest
Roof glass roof in the scota ever right and you probably have tested it in the cover drive
So it's also the first time that we do not have this kind of
Sunshades in there the blind system. Yeah, we are having an electrochromatic system there
So you just push a button and then it basically shades
Automatically it's like magic
I'm not sure what else we can talk about internally because this is the cover drive
We weren't allowed to do a lot of internal filming on this
So I'm not sure if we can talk about some of the other features until the world premiere on the interior
So Björn, I'm not going to mention anything else. I saw today
Then we have more to talk
Exactly the link will be in the description Björn
Thank you so much for your time
Is there anything else that I've left out in this interview before I let you go
But I think that's everything that we can talk about today. Perfectly fine. Thank you so much. Thank you very much
Next up we are talking about the key. Sorry just before we finish on this go to peak
There is a cover drive up on the youtube channel
Where I am sitting in with one of the traction engineer team
Within the drivers. We're driving along there at Lake Homo. So keep an eye out for that the
Next up where we are in
Lisbon in Portugal driving the Kia EV2
their b-segment suv
550 kilometer range can come in a standard range battery and a long range battery
Has a four seat and a five seat option. We would have seen this at brussels
but there is a
Video now up on the channel where we are chatting and last week you chatted on the podcast to short from kia
But just couldn't mention about the drive and so found it very good for you found a very economical
And that shape and size they're done so well with ev3
Um, I think ev2 is going to be if they get the price right it's all down to price
And what people actually want be that the four-seater and the five-seater
I've done a survey over on the channel
And I also asked in the video what people want and on the video a lot of four-seaters long range
It's what's coming back
But actually in the vote in the community section on the youtube channel
It's about 50 50 people are saying I'd like everybody send them at the long range battery
And whether it is the four-seater or the five-seater. So
Ronan and kahl are listening in i'm sure if you're hearing this
Bring in a bit of four-seaters as well. People are definitely interested in it. Um
So the kia ev2 driven video is also up on the channel
You're listening to this podcast. So I know you've got a curious mind
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Dear crew it's toyota with an adult-sized third row everyone's welcome in the grand highlander
From sports fans to eco buffs and movie fans
Sing back in the sienna with an available rear seat entertainment system
Slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go
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Let's go places
And
And the end of last week then we were over in a pizza
And we are looking at the all-new reno twingo and it was um, I have an interview starting off with
Victoria who looks after ampere small or now it's the or g e v reno group electric vehicle small platform
So let's get straight into that interview
So my name is vittorio darienzo and I'm vice president global products for ampere within reno group electric cars
And we're here in it was sunny yesterday a bit overcast today with your new baby as you called it last night at the press conference
An amazing car that we would have known in the past
Three generations, but now the fourth generation all electric the reno twingo
Um, tell me about your baby. Well, we are we are amazed to introduce or reintroduce this car
The market when the car came to the market the first time and back in 1992 1993
It was it was a little revolution on its own the ratio between the space inside and the footprint of the car was for sure
One of the winning
Point and the selling point of the car as well as you know the funny, you know design and the cuteness of the vehicle himself
We wanted to repurpose exactly the same spirit the same dna
But of course in something that you know goes together with the new century and the new technologies
The the electric platform allowed us to repurpose that design language, you know
Being very true to the DNA of the car. So very short overangs very big wheels at the corners
And provide tons of space inside
Give us the opportunity as well to make a further step and moving into a five door body
So even more practicality than it was before
And the attention to to detail in terms of cost allocation within the car has also enabled
Let's say more features
As a matter of fact in the vehicle you got, you know, the screen is standard across the whole lineup
The full modularity which is you know part of the name twingo somehow
Or the nameplate twingo the full modularity is standard as well
And incredible 640 millimeters wheels that looks the car, you know a bit cartoonish if you like, you know with the very wide tracks
The platform the rise from the Renault 5 so the drivability is there
As well as, you know, the agility that goes along with the very direct steering ratio
So as you may understand, I love the car, you know
It's just I think it's pretty visible
It's in a segment that's an interesting one when twingo was launched back in 92 93
25 of the market was a segment
urban suburban small cars people
My first car was a fort fiesta. So I am well aware of small cars and families managed
But over the years these cars have been getting bigger. So now a segment is 5% in your presentation last night you were saying
Well, it's it's a double bet on the segment the the twingo
probably a triple one because in fact
We are considering that a segment is dropping because of the lack of offer not because of a lack in demand
And this is the first point
For many oms has been very
You know the struggle to make profits in such a segment because
Indeed you need to offer all the you know adders and safety and nvh and so on and so forth
But in a shrink body, so the cost is from an upper segment car
But you need to sell it for an a segment price
And this is the first element the the second one is
Uh 20 years ago 30 years ago an a segment car was a true a segment car
Now the twingo is three meters 79
I remember 20 years ago a c segment car was four meter
So, uh, you know the gulf and so on there were cars in the league of the four meters and in the b segment cars
Like probably your fiesta 20 years ago
It was it was something as big as the twingo is today. So yes, we talk about a segment compared to the current
size and dimensions of the car
But it's a it's a car that can completely fulfill a b segment
functionality in terms of space
and so on so
I think with a customer they don't think in terms of segmentation
They think in terms of what I get for what I pay and what I need
And in this respect the twingo has the cabin of a b segment car of nowadays, you know, if you compare it even our r5
We are totally comparable. We are totally on the same league
And so the second bet is on the electric
We are quite confident on that one because r5
Has been it is a successful electric vehicle
I do have a lot of customers that buy the car
Despite is electric even if it's electric because they love the car
And this is our way to push into electric car democratization with effective actions and not only blah blah blah in the conferences
Sorry
The first is the first weapon is make a good product
Make a car that drives well that design wise is outstanding
And let's see what the customer thinks about and and the second one is and this is what the twingo is about
Make a car very very efficient in this way the total cost of ownership
As well as as pleasant is the car to drive, you know, it will it will answer a customer demanded
We are pretty sure is is there
You talk about in your presentation last night and your colleagues about how it was a kind of a circular
Lose weight you require less battery with less battery
You could lose more weight and it was every single detail has been looked at and not to the detriment of design or functionality
You've done a really great job with twingo to make it as you say as efficient
But that comes down to weight that comes down to battery, etc
Yeah, this is an exercise that goes
Completely against the rule of the market nowadays, which are getting into bigger bigger batteries. So more power electric motors
You know, we recently saw vehicles which are in the 2.5 tons leak that
For my generation is a commercial vehicle right as is truck
and
so I came from another assumption and
My my what if was in the direction of saying, you know, let's fix let's fix the range
First and and the range we wanted to be above 250 kilometers
Because from our studies given how many zoes we sold how many guns ev we sold already
We know that the customer drives on average maximum in the 30 kilometers
League for every day. So the idea was I need to grant
Even in winter time
One week on a single charge. So the customer can charge the car, you know Friday night to Saturday morning
and it's going to be fine for the week
And the second point was LFP battery technology
Allow us to use more the battery down to 10 even 5 percent
State of charge without ever compromising the performance
So once you optimize these parameters and you set up the battery size
And the emerald that goes along you discover that this is quite of a light lightweight setup
This allow us for example to play a bit with the rear axle. We use the cup to one instead of the multi link
We have in the five
further reducing weight
And for the braking system it goes with the same story
Of course reducing the footprint maximizing the cabin. This means the ratio between the empty, you know space
And the full space in the car is even is even higher
And and so on and so forth
So you can easily see that if you start with a 30 kilowatt hour battery for example and you make this exercise
You end up in a 28 and you redo the exercise and we ended up at 27.5 of usable energy storage
And 263 kilometers of range. So even better thanks to aerodynamics and so on and I think this is an exercise that
Every o.m. It should start again
To do because we cannot fluid our cities with vehicles which are supposed to be environmental friendly, right?
with efficiencies which are
Worse than 20 kilowatt per 100 kilometers with weight which are above two tons in historical city, you know ruining ruining the
You know the city himself and so on
So i'm a strong believer that the evika revolution should start with something which is, you know, very simple
pleasant to drive and
And at the same time are really environmental friendly with the twingo
We are below 11 kilowatt per 100 kilometers and a 1200 kg car as well. So a light car overall
yes, the
People are talking about the twingo being the fastest Renault ever but not in a speed sense, but in a development sense
100 weeks
designed in france and then
The boffins over in china in acdc
Developing it. We were sitting with alex last night at dinner
Uh an inch such an interesting product journey compared to a traditional
Vehicle and you were talking about how this may be the way that future models depending on the type of model will be developed
But you're definitely taking the learnings from from twingo absolutely. Yes, and uh
It's probably yes. You're right. It's the fastest car. It's the fastest car in that regard when we got the projects on our desk
We had nothing more than a clay market design intention and a platform to start with
But the platform requires heavy modification
In order to achieve the 1.2 tons the efficiency we wanted and and so on and so forth
Um, so we needed to restructure completely the processes. Um, a lot of activities that before were done in a serial manner
Uh became parallelized
Uh, thanks to the fact not because before we were you know, uh naive and and now we are taking all the risk of the world
But we got the experience of the r5 development
r4 development as well
And we got very clear in mind
Definition of the twingo we wanted to bring to the market
So I would say 90 of the vehicle has been completely decided
Less than two years ago. Okay down to the last screw nut and bolt, you know
And this is very important. The third point is agile team with a higher, you know
Autonomy in terms of being able to take quick decision on the spot
I was managing my team, uh, which is partially in tecno center in guiangkuri in paris and partially is in a cdc in china
Uh through teams and what's up on daily basis and many decisions were taken really in a small cycle
With me with the design with the project team every time of course during the project
You have things that doesn't work as expected, right? So this is pretty pretty normal like in every family
But instead of going through a committee and waiting for the decision and wait for the meeting minutes
And then you know and then discuss with the next team and and propagate the information and rework and so on
We sit together me the design the project team a cdc guys and so on and we say, okay guys
Let's try this other way and we see us tomorrow
You know the china team can work
Uh eight hours in eight hours in advance compared to us
So it was like working on 16 hours daily shift or efficiency very good efficiency
And we created a strong bond among among all these stakeholders
And another important factor has been to be totally honest
Deplanned in novomesto in slovenia because they were so enthusiast to give
A twingo a second life again in a in a new modern execution
That they were really eager to have you know the tools and the stuff to start building the cars
I I run a lot of tests that usually are run on prototype parts built in you know
In rather in shanghai or in techno center, etc
I was able to run some of those tests already on
Basically production cars produced in novomesto exactly for that
So it was a wow journey for me is a once in a lifetime experience
To propagate these two other projects the spirit in the philosophy absolutely. Yes
But because of platform synergies
Transition to electric we do have you know a dual leg strategy
We call it so full hybrid vehicles and PV vehicles every car is a story on his own
So what we call the lip hundred so the hundred weeks development time
Is more let's say our our book of intentions
That could be cars that will make it an even less time
Which is the derivatives that you're building right now based on the twingo for another brand
and
As well as cars that maybe will take 110 weeks
But based on even heavier platform modification, but the philosophy is going to be there
Very good two final questions before I let you go. What's your favorite part of twingo?
I know it's like asking what's your favorite child?
But I always like to ask people would involved in the in the whole project interior exterior feature
What is the element that you think is what is your favorite for me?
Yeah, the you know the element of surprise somehow because when you look at the car
Considering myself outside the project right and I look at the car for me. It's like a city. It's a toy
You know, it's it's a fresh breeze of colorful and cute cuteness
And when you discover then that the car drives like an r5 it has the technology and it drives so smooth
It has you know, it is vibrant
It it is
It's having the acceleration that is right in the city. It's fun to drive. You know
You start respecting it even more somehow. I don't know if I explain myself. Absolutely. Yeah
My favorite part is the lights front and rear daytime running lights the shape
But also the connecting and the inside of the hazard button the big red button that you've taken from twingo gen one
So this is my favorite. Well just for you to know the lights were one of the main discussion points
And was the last part to be defined and we were really rushing to make the lights that way
Because we accepted absolutely no compromise on the design
And just to mention the small module you see inside the lamps
That is you know contrasting with the body color part
We wanted this line to be exactly at that position
To give the feeling that it's one continuous line with the front
You can't imagine the discussion around the two three millimeters of this line
It took something like two three weeks. Yeah, very good. Last question
What what are you most excited about for moving forward for the rest of the year and and within rental group?
We are running a completely new plan and a revolution of the next wave of products
We delivered a lot with the revolution plan
Our electric cars are nowadays
I would say the benchmark in the in the respective segments
Because of design because of performance efficiency development time
So the next step is going to be a new wave of products. We need to think how to completely renew the lineup
I will take over very soon the full portfolio of Renault for the next few years to come in terms of responsibility
I need to think first reinforce a and b segment vehicles, which are our
bread and butter and our daily success
But at the same time we start the story in upper segment
And we want to consolidate and further expand international internationally this lineup
There is a lot of work to do the competition is fierce
The the chinese are coming of course everybody's saying this but for me the chinese are already here
It's not it's not something that's about to come
We need to live with that
What the japanese have done in 20 years Toyota the koreans in 10 the chinese were able to do it in three
So this is completely shaking the industry and I welcome them because it's a very good and healthy
Thing to have this level of competition that pushed the boundaries of design of technology
And probably cars like you know
There are no five at this level of refinement or the twingo
Will not have been born if you wouldn't add such a level of competition that force everybody
You know to grow the extra mine and it's good for the consumer then as well at the end of the journey. So yes
Thank you so much for your time. It was my pleasure. Thanks a lot
So if you're interested in finding out more about the Renault twingo head over to the youtube channel that we have a
Full review and drive up there
Again getting lots of interest
Renault coming obviously in a four-seater only the twingo with a single size battery two different trims evolution and techno
But if you're interested in finding out more you'll find it on the youtube channel
Last but not least we are getting closer to the
Nevo driving experience in partnership with bank of ireland on april 26th in the car race course
Tickets now available over on nevo.ie. Make sure you if you're in the area come along
We have lots of evs there to sit in talk to experts listen to some expert talks and also
Taking for test drive. So register for free test drives then you can get a list as to what's available on the day
And we really look forward to seeing you at the car race course in kildare
If you have already please subscribe to the channel hit the
Hit the or sorry live a comment rate
Depending on its apple or spotify and I really look forward to chatting to you next week
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progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates national average 12 month savings by
$946 by new customers surveyed who saved with progressive between june 2024 and may 2025 potential savings will vary
Dear crew it's toyota with an adult-sized third row everyone's welcome in the grand highlander
from sports fans to eco buffs and movie fans
Sing back in the sienna with an available rear seat entertainment system
Slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go
toyota
Find yours at toyota.com
toyota
Let's go places
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