I'm currently looking to buy a 2021 Octavia IV (PHEV), I did a lot of research regarding towing as I need it to tow our caravan; all the websites I have found say it will tow 1500kg, I phoned up my local tow bar fitter who said he could fit a towbar (gave him the registration so he should have had the right details), so we went to test drive the car, one of the first things I checked was the weights plate on the b pillar which stated a train weight of 0kg, so we left very disappointed, the route home went close to a Skoda dealers so we nipped in and asked them about it, it was a Sunday so only the sales team in, and the guy said all his paperwork said it would tow 1500kg. So Monday I phoned them again and asked service dept, who put me through to parts dept, who put me through to someone else, who said (drum roll) it has to be factory fitted, it cannot be retrofitted.
    So I am very interested in any light that anyone can shed on this, the way I see it even if I could get a towbar fitted the weights plate would make towing anything illegal, unless you can change the weights plate?
    Is there anything substantially different about the IV’s with towbars or is Skoda just trying to keep the money in-house?

HI Steve

Saw your post on Octy NX (4) PHEV asking for a towbar.

Here is my discussions with the helpful Skoda dealer, somewhere along the M4

Yes you can put a towbar on any Octavia, but it must be plated for that. Some skodas are not, so you must either buy the factory towbar or find one that is plated. That means buying the extra pack from Skoda, dont try to put a towbar on a non-plated car, a) the fitter should not do it, and b) if you get caught by mr plod you cant continue to tow and you are stranded..... not clever at all c) you have no insurance.

 

I sat with a SKoda dealer for near 2 hours, asking about a Skoda Octavia PHEV with a towbar for my up-plated caravan, thats 1500kg. He absolutely said no, dont do it, not even a new one, buy either a petrol or a diesel. Why, well the PHEV only charges when you are either plugged in, ie not towing, or going downhill without engine braking. So after 50 or 80 miles you have 0% in the battery. Now you are left with just a petrol 1.4 (or newer 1.5) petrol engine to tow. Thats not going to get a 1500kg caravan up a hill easily, and you are going to knacker that battery very quickly, taking it to 0%, then 100% charge every time does not do it good. 

Its your choice, but several Skoda dealers said the same. I was lucky and found an Octavia plated to 1600kg with towbar and winter pack.... 2022 nx, I had been looking for 6 months.

 

hope you chose wisely, Orange Tart.

Morning all, I have just purchased a Skoda Octavia Estate IV. I ordered a Towbar to be fitted yet when the car was delivered to the dealership it did not have the Towbar on. The dealership informed me that the factory didn't fit and they would do it at the dealership. This at the time was not an issue. After my car being with them for 4 days i had a call to be told by the service manager that there was an issue with the fitment as errors was coming up. They contact the factory in Germany and was told (even though the retro fitted parts came from the factory) that the tow bar could not be fitted retrospectively to my car. The dealership had to then spend a further 5 days to get the car back to it's factory state. I am now in dispute with Skoda as the car that i actually ordered was not delivered and that even though the factory said the towbar could be fitted retrospectively that it could not. The below was sent to me by Skoda and the brief came out 6 days after my car went in. Be aware if fitting a towbar to your Octavia IV

Hi All,

Has anyone fitted an aftermarket towbar system and actually made it work 100%, or is it still a complete no-go due to coding issues (UN-ECE cybersecurity locking out coding or something)?

I'm being told that even with Tow Bar Preparation (which my new car has at extra cost), it can be fitted and wired up, but cannot be coded, so I will end up with loads of errors, parking sensor issues, emergency brakes applied in reverse, etc.

Thanks.

Speak with Kieran at https://eastyorkshireretrofits.co.uk/ he'll know what can and can't be done.

I had a Westfalia towbar, who are the VW OEM supplier, retrofitted to a 2022 Golf Mk8 1.5TSI and it works fine with no problems.

I looked for VW OEM towbars on the internet, they are all rebadged Westfalia ones + the VW towbar control unit you will see rebadged as Westfalia.

The VWAG towbar control module is a VWAG towbar control module, the westfalia towbar kits include a different module that imitates the genuine module (usually the wrong module, for MQB not MQBevo which prevents SVM being possible)

The towbars have westfalia branding as well as VWAG branding.

UNECE cars can now have towbars installed, we’ve done a few. There are a few that can’t due to the build date, and a few that can’t without having software updates performed first

If you send us a message with your reg or VIN we can look into it for you.

Here are the current towbar installation restrictions for the UNECE Octavia


Build dates
01/04/24 to 25/08/24 (CW14/2024 - CW34/2024) - Updates required prior to installation

26/08/24 to 24/11/24 (CW35/2024 - CW47/2024) - Updates required prior to installation

25/11/24 to 06/07/25 (CW48/2024 - CW27/2025) - Updates required prior to installation

07/07/25 onwards - not currently supported (Not currently in existence anyway)

Cars with outstanding updates will be charged for the updates so it's advisable to make use of your warranty and have them performed by your local dealer prior to visiting us.

Edited 2 July, 20252 Jul by East_Yorkshire_Retrofits

Very helpful and generous to go to these efforts @East_Yorkshire_Retrofits I don't believe the dealer network is as clued up!

I have you in mind as you suggested via PM (thanks again) but today I had a call from Skoda who had been doing some investigations too, had spoken to my dealer, and had agreed that they would work together to source a Skoda OEM retractable system and let me know lead times, if it will work, and costs. I'll share what transpires in the hope that it adds to the already useful info given above and helps others, and of course will be in touch...

Thanks again.

The quote I gave you is for a genuine retractable towbar, so it’ll be the exact same as what they’re looking to install. All comes down to price 🤑🤑

After having my towbar fitted and programmed at a Westfalia dealer, and having no problems I was intrigued with East Yorkshire Retrofit's comments.

It appears to me that the Westfalia control unit is a simply a rebadged VW part. Of if Westfalia are the OEM supplier, it's probably the other way around?

13 minutes ago, clevoir25 said:

After having my towbar fitted and programmed at a Westfalia dealer, and having no problems I was intrigued with East Yorkshire Retrofit's comments.

It appears to me that the Westfalia control unit is a simply a rebadged VW part. Of if Westfalia are the OEM supplier, it's probably the other way around?

Always happy to be corrected, the usual aftermarket towbar installations we end up removing are small black boxes that just imitate the genuine control module.

Edited 3 July, 20253 Jul by East_Yorkshire_Retrofits

Yes I've seen those when I researched tow bar suppliers, and it scared me!

That's why I decided to use Westfalia, as they appear to be the OEM supplier to VAG

On 03/07/2025 at 16:55, Andacami said:

Very helpful and generous to go to these efforts @East_Yorkshire_Retrofits I don't believe the dealer network is as clued up!

I have you in mind as you suggested via PM (thanks again) but today I had a call from Skoda who had been doing some investigations too, had spoken to my dealer, and had agreed that they would work together to source a Skoda OEM retractable system and let me know lead times, if it will work, and costs. I'll share what transpires in the hope that it adds to the already useful info given above and helps others, and of course will be in touch...

Thanks again.

I have to report that as yet, the dealer has not come back with anything helpful, in fact, they are being rather dismissive about most things to do with my new octy form telling me the steps to use for a setting when I've laready explained it does not work as I've tried those steps or the setting is not there to now saying they don't have trained technicians on-site to fit a tow bar despite Skoda Customer Services saying the delaer would sort it for me!

The frustration continues, and I'm increasingly considering turning to a certain third-party...

Edited 2 August, 20252 Aug by Andacami
spelling

On 06/02/2024 at 21:39, HowardB said:

I sat with a SKoda dealer for near 2 hours, asking about a Skoda Octavia PHEV with a towbar for my up-plated caravan, thats 1500kg. He absolutely said no, dont do it, not even a new one, buy either a petrol or a diesel. Why, well the PHEV only charges when you are either plugged in, ie not towing, or going downhill without engine braking. So after 50 or 80 miles you have 0% in the battery. Now you are left with just a petrol 1.4 (or newer 1.5) petrol engine to tow. Thats not going to get a 1500kg caravan up a hill easily, and you are going to knacker that battery very quickly, taking it to 0%, then 100% charge every time does not do it good. 

Realising this is an older comment, and something of a tangent, but we're towing our (MTPLM 1400kg, actual 1200kg) Eriba 530 with our RS hybrid - it tows really well - set the car to auto hybrid mode and it uses a little extra battery going up hills when needed and uses the extra weight of the caravan to improve regen going down. We did 400km one-way trips this summer and the battery happily lasted the whole trip with some charge left to spare. In addition, a hybrid or EV is amazing when maneuvering the caravan into place - you have much, much more control.
TLDR: I'm very happy towing with a PHEV. The previous Superb IV was a bit nicer because the car was 300kg heavier (the Octavia feels a bit 'light' now and again) but the Octavia IV is pretty capable.

52 minutes ago, Andacami said:

I have to report that as yet, the dealer has not come back with anything helpful, in fact, they are being rather dismissive about most things to do with my new octy form tlling the steps to use for a setting when I've laready explained it does not work as I've tried those steps or the setting is not there to now saying they don't have trained technicians on-site to fit a tow bar despite Skoda Customer Services saying the delaer would sort it for me!

The frustration continues, and I'm increasingly considering turning to a certain third-party...

Come to us for the exact same towbar that the dealers would fit, fitted in exactly the same way with exactly the same functionality, with the same warranty - and less headaches

Edited 2 August, 20252 Aug by East_Yorkshire_Retrofits

With apologies to @East_Yorkshire_Retrofits , my dealer has at long last sourced the retractable towbar parts and I have a fitting date booked. I'll report back on the success or otherwise mid-October.

I may start a new thread recounting the whole story, as it may help others, and the car is an eTec, not a PHEV, which was the OP's point in the first place.

Edited 3 October, 20253 Oct by Andacami