Lack of technology? Subaru plans to launch a series of electric SUVs by 2026

Subaru has been a bit late in the field of electric vehicles (EV) compared to most traditional car manufacturers, but it is now trying to catch up. So far, Subaru has only launched one Electric Vehicle (EV) Solterra, which accounted for only 0.02% of the global EV market sales in 2023. If Sabaru wants to enter into the Electric Vehicle (EV) market, is it the easiest way to find help?

Subaru and Toyota have a long history of cooperation in car development, including Toyota holding 20% of Subaru's shares. In the current EV competition both companies are involved in, Toyota's bZ4X and Subaru's Solterra do not have enough competitiveness to compete with a variety of new electric cars emerging in the market, which have more diversified body shapes and practical configurations. Therefore, Subaru announced in the latest financial results report that Subaru will once again cooperate with Toyota, planning to launch a series of all-electric SUVs by the end of 2026 and put them into the market.

These three upcoming Subaru EVs will be produced at Subaru's factory in Japan and developed in collaboration with Toyota. It is worth noting that Subaru's current Solterra is essentially a rebadged Toyota bZ4X and can be considered a sibling model.

In addition to this announcement, Subaru also detailed its development path that aims to have the capability to produce 400,000 electric vehicles per year by 2028.

To achieve this goal, Subaru will start internal production of electric vehicles at its Yajima factory, its goal is to produce 200,000 units per year by 2026.

Subaru will also add a dedicated electric vehicle production line at its Oizumi factory, where it currently produces engines and transmissions, with the same goal of producing 200,000 EVs per year by 2027.

Atsushi Osaki also emphasized the difficulty of the current competition in the electric vehicle market. The risks posed by various factors make it very difficult for a company to develop an electric vehicle on its own. Therefore, it is a good idea for the two companies to cooperate in the development of efficient electric vehicles, so as to significantly reduce the budget for the development of electric vehicles and the testing time.

For the Subaru Forester, which is well-received in North America, Subaru plans to add hybrid options and has received Toyota's help in technology and production. Meanwhile, Toyota also serves as a consultant to comply with various policies in the United States.

In addition, the CEO of Subaru has also confirmed that the company will not give up on the development of internal combustion engines, but will upgrade to hybrid power so that there will be two types of powertrains to choose from for each model, all thses are in order to achieve sustainable sales growth.