Skoda has mentioned it is not going to change its Fabia Combi small wagon as initially deliberate, citing the approaching Euro 7 emissions rules.

In 2020, Thomas Schaefer, who was Skoda’s CEO on the time and is now head of the Volkswagen model, introduced that Skoda would change the Fabia wagon with a launch date of this yr.

“This is essential to us as a result of it underlines our dedication to providing inexpensive, sensible mobility within the entry-level segments,” Schaefer mentioned.

Nonetheless, the wagon plan has now been axed. “Assembly the demanding emissions targets with the upcoming Euro 7 laws is related to very excessive prices,“ a Skoda spokesperson instructed Automotive Information Europe. “Following this choice, there can be no successor to the Fabia Combi.”

Skoda stopped constructing the outgoing Fabia Combi in November final yr, eradicating the final small wagon nonetheless on sale in Europe.

The area of interest phase previously has been contested by Skoda in addition to Renault with the Clio and Peugeot with the 207. Skoda offered 3,013 Fabia Combis via the top of March, down 49 p.c on the yr earlier than, as sellers cleared the final of their inventory.

Automakers have more and more shifted their focus away from small hatchbacks and wagons to SUVs in recent times as they seemed to extend margins on a phase that’s susceptible to cost rises resulting from each elevated laws and better uncooked materials prices.

Skoda launched the present fourth-generation of the Fabia hatchback  in 2021, switching it to the VW Group’s MQB-A0 platform for the primary time. The brand new model is 110 mm longer than its predecessor at 4108 mm, creating additional room for passengers.

Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer warned in April that Euro 7 emissions rules as at present proposed would imply critical price hikes for the Fabia. “We need to respect the local weather, but when the present draft turns into actuality by 2025 we must put expertise within the automobile that’s both not developed but or is so costly {that a} 15,000-euro automobile would turn out to be an 18,000-20,000-euro automobile in Europe.”

The rules would go into impact in July 2025, as at present deliberate. They govern the discharge of exhaust gases resembling nitrogen oxide in addition to advantageous particulates, which have been blamed for tens of hundreds of deaths. In addition they will regulate emissions of particles from brake pads and tires.

Automakers have mentioned they’re a expensive distraction for the push to electrification, as a result of they require retrofitting and retesting of combustion powertrains.