Buying a new car before it physically exists in a showroom is no longer a stretch. Škoda has launched a mixed-reality app that lets users place full-size, photorealistic versions of its electric models into their own living rooms, garages, or driveways, and configure them on the spot.
What the App Actually Does
The Škoda Virtual Experience app runs on both the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets. Currently, it supports two electric models: the Elroq and the Epiq. The Peaq SUV is expected to be added this autumn (in Europe).
Using the headset’s cameras, the app anchors a digital car to the user’s real environment at actual scale. The body reacts to ambient lighting conditions, which Škoda says strengthens the impression that the vehicle is physically present. Users can walk around the car, open doors, inspect the boot, and change colours, wheel types, and interior trim.
Each model also gets a short branded introduction before the experience begins. The Elroq launches in the spirit of its “Be More” campaign; the Epiq opens with its “modeling clay” aesthetic, where abstract digital material gradually resolves into the finished car.
Reaching Buyers Without a Headset
Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest headsets remain far from mainstream, and Škoda acknowledges this directly. The brand is working with dealership partners to make the headset experience available in showrooms, so customers can explore a model before it physically arrives on the floor.
For everyone else, a smartphone version is available via QR code. The phone’s camera places a 3D model into the user’s surroundings, with the option to adjust scale, meaning the Peaq can appear as a desk-sized model or at full life size. The smartphone library is considerably broader, covering the Scala, Kamiq, Karoq, Octavia, Superb, Superb Combi, Kodiaq, Elroq, Enyaq RS, Enyaq Coupé RS, Epiq, and the forthcoming Peaq.
Part of a Broader Digital Push
The app sits within Škoda’s wider Škodaverse initiative, which explores emerging digital platforms as customer touchpoints. The brand has previously appeared in Roblox and Fortnite, and its Vision GT concept features in Gran Turismo. A 3D-printable car model rounds out the more playful end of the programme.
Luca Zicconi from Škoda’s Customer Experience department framed the rationale plainly: younger audiences respond more readily to interactive virtual environments than to conventional media, and buyers increasingly want immersive ways to engage with a product before committing.
That logic is hard to argue with. As Škoda expands its electric range rapidly, giving buyers a credible, detailed preview of models that may not yet be on dealer forecourts is a practical advantage, not just a marketing exercise. Whether headset adoption grows fast enough to make the Vision Pro and Quest versions widely relevant remains to be seen, but the smartphone fallback ensures the experience is accessible today.
