Skoda announced that it is entering a new auto business segment as part of its overall growth strategy for the 2025.
It will be entering snow vehicle market with its new product, Snowman and will introduce its first snow groomer to market by the end of 2016.
The Czech company says that this new vehicle has been designed to handle high-alpine terrains with better off-road capabilities, especially during winter.
Snowman has been designed as a plug-in hybrid to operate in the extreme weather conditions of alpine environment while ensuring environment conservation.
Skoda Snowman is 9.13m long including its snowplough and snowblower, 2.5m wide without tracks and 5.26m with snowplough. Snowman will also include a piste preparation equipment.
The plug-in hybrid Snowman will have a power output of 295kW (400 PS) with a torque of 650Nm.
When downhill, the regenerative energy system will recuperate energy and will send it to the lithium-ion battery.The power is transferred to the caterpillar tracks through a transfer case.
It has a top speed of 20kn/hr, can climb gradients up to 100 percent and can also rotate on its own axis. The details about the internal combustion (IC) engine have not been disclosed by the company, but offer a fuel economy of 14 liters per hour.
Snowman will have a glass cabin with seating capacity for three people along with standard safety equipment.
Skoda is also making changes to the way the new Snowman will be driven. Instead of having a steering wheel, the snow vehicle will have a joystick which will contain most of the controls for the vehicle. It will also be wirelessly connected to the mountain station.
At first, the new Skoda Snowman will be launched in markets such as Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and other European markets in December, 2016 and will have starting price of €280,000.
Image: Skoda Snowman. Photo: Courtesy of Skoda.
