Yahoo Autos Subaru Plans Crosstrek, Forester Hybrids and More Toyota-Built EVs
Subaru announced plans for more hybrids and a suite of EVs that will be jointly developed with Toyota, as reported by Automotive News.
Three more electric SUVs will arrive thanks to Toyota by the end of 2026, before Subaru begins developing its own EVs for 2028.
Subaru is also readying hybrid variants of the Crosstrek and Forester SUVs.
As the era of widespread EV adoption looms, smaller automakers are looking to big conglomerates for help as they contend with the large upfront costs required to develop all-new platforms and powertrains. Subaru is one such company, as it seeks to strengthen ties with Toyota—which holds a 20 percent stake in Subaru—and has outlined plans for three new electric SUVs over the next few years.
The plans were divulged during a recent earnings call, as reported by Automotive News. Subaru is still targeting its long-term goal of having half of its worldwide sales, roughly 600,000 vehicles, come from EVs. The charge will be led by the Solterra—a rebadged Toyota bZ4X—along with three more crossovers expected by the end of 2026. Just like the Solterra, the next three SUVs will be jointly developed and built with Toyota.
One of these EVs will be assembled by Subaru at its factory in Yajima, Japan, while Toyota will build one in the U.S. The latter is expected to be a Subaru-badged version of the upcoming bZ5X, a three-row electric crossover that is slated to come online in 2025 at Toyota’s Kentucky plant. Working with other companies lessens the risk of diving headlong into the new propulsion technology, especially as uncertainty swirls around EV demand in the U.S. The partnership with Toyota will let the U.S.-built Subaru EVs qualify for the federal EV tax credits without Subaru having to retool its U.S. plant.
Still, Subaru plans to release four more EVs by the end of 2028 that are all supposed to be developed entirely in-house. Subaru predicts 400,000 EV sales globally in 2028, but admitted during the earnings call that this is still dependent upon big increases in demand. This is a long way off from the 14,000 EVs (out of the total 852,000 Subarus) sold last year, with 8872 of those finding homes in the U.S. EV production is supposed to be brought in-house in Japan in 2025, good for 200,000 units annually, with another line added in Japan in 2027 for an additional 200,000 units.
Subaru also aims to flesh out its lineup with hybrid variants of the Crosstrek crossover and Forester SUV, the latter of which will be produced in Japan and Indiana. The Indiana plant has been producing the Legacy, but Subaru just announced that the sedan will be retired after the 2025 model year. U.S. production of the next hybrid setup is due to start in 2026, and we expect to see more hybrids proliferate throughout Subaru’s lineup as it navigates the switch to electric power.
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