We make better cars than Tesla: Skoda boss takes aim at top-selling electric car brand

Skoda Australia's boss has slammed Tesla as making impractical cars and not treating customers fairly as the company prepares to launch its first electric vehicle.

Speaking to CarsGuide at the unveiling of the Enyaq electric SUV in Sydney recently, Skoda Australia managing director Michael Irmer gave credit to Tesla for warming people to EVs but when asked who makes a better car - Tesla or Skoda - he shot straight from the hip.

"Skoda any day of the week," Irmer said. "Because they have real buttons, and you don't have to go through three sub menus to open the glovebox and stuff like that. Tesla has an appeal but it's quite impractical in some aspects," he said.

Irmer said Tesla's initial popularity was down to technology-obsessed fans, but everyday people wouldn't take to the cars with their minimalist design and lack of traditional dials and switches in the cabin.

"Our car is trying to combine it all and not overwhelm the rest of the population," he said.

"See, a lot of the early adopters of Teslas were into tech as well and for the mainstream we had to make a car with the appeal of the things which are good about a Tesla but not lose the customers on the way."

Irmer said that it wasn't just the design of Teslas such as the Model 3 and Model Y which might put buyers off but also Tesla's approach to customer care, something he says Skoda prides itself on.

"We of course focus on the whole of life customer experience and that's where we set ourselves apart," he said.

"That means you have an outlet, somewhere to get your car serviced, get a service loan car you get a good service package, a guarantee of minimum future value and have also started to always communicate repayment for base pricing - we're doing a lot on the transparency side - we've had a national driveaway price since 2013 across the range.

"We have stock locator transparency, no smoke and mirrors - it's clear. We want to be clear, simple and real - and not all those things I just mentioned Tesla has."

Irmer also points out Tesla's habit of changing the list price of its vehicles and the effect this has on the owner's resale value. Tesla has dropped the price of its Model 3 twice this year, the first being in January with a $1600 reduction and then again in April with a $3000 cut. Irmer said the strategy only harms new buyers.

"You don't need to be afraid that if you buy the car today, tomorrow you'll lose $5000 of residual value because they've dropped the price - this is not a good thing for the owners," he said.

"Mature brands have all been in this game for a long time - you need to protect your existing customer base, you need to be dependable, dependable in terms of not breaking down or having it fixed and being covered for it.

"A car is a lot of money - it's the second largest purchase after the house for everyone, [and it is important] to protect your asset investment."

Skoda's first electric car is the Enyaq mid-sized SUV and it will arrive in Australia offering both coupe and traditional SUV body styles.

A direct rival to the Tesla Model Y we're expecting the Enyaq to be priced closely to that model so expect a list price of about $70,000.

The Enyaq will arrive in Australia with an 82kWh battery, a single motor powering the front wheels and a range of up to 570km (WLPT) and have a 0-100km/h time of 6.7 seconds.

An all-wheel drive sporty RS version of the Enyaq should follow some time in 2025.

Skoda has launched its counteroffensive to Tesla and told CarsGuide that at least another four electric vehicles will arrive in Australia by 2026 from small SUVs the size of a Karoq and Kamiq to larger Kodiaq proportioned SUVs.