By 2026, Subaru will offer three new all-electric SUVs. They’re unknown. Atsushi Osaki, the senior vice president of Subaru, says that the SUVs will help the company sell 200,000 electric cars by 2026. Toyota is the only company that makes the Solera EV for Subaru, but that will soon change. Subaru plans to produce 400,000 electric vehicles (EVs) annually by 2028. Shortly, three more electric Subaru cars will be on the market—more “Subaru” electric cars. When writing, the Volterra was Subaru’s only electric car. It’s good, but it could be a better EV with a rough start on the market. Subaru isn’t letting the delayed launch stop its EV plans, just like Toyota, which co-developed the Volterra (and the related Toyota bZ4x) with Subaru and is getting more serious about plug-in cars. Late last week, Subaru announced a new plan to make up to 400,000 electric vehicles annually and bring out three new all-electric SUVs by 2026. During a conference call with reporters about the company’s results for its fiscal year 2023, Atsushi Osaki, the company’s director and executive vice president, talked about its new electric vehicle goals. Even though we would all like to know more about these upcoming electric SUVs, Osaki would keep our information private. In a call transcript, he said, “I’d like to talk more about these new models at another time.” 200,000 Subaru EV sales in 2026 In fiscal year 2023, Subaru made 874,000 cars; in fiscal year 2024, it plans to make more than a million. Aside from that, the company doesn’t make any predictions about sales or production, but Osaki said that Subaru hopes to sell 200,000 EVs worldwide by 2026. This is a good amount since Toyota and this company are now tied for first place in the EV race. The Volterra/bZ4x is just the start of what Subaru and Toyota will do together. Osaki says the batteries for the three planned EVs from Subaru would also come from the Toyota partnership. The Solera and the bZ4x are made at Toyota’s Motomachi plant, also where the bZ4x is made. On the other hand, Subaru is ready to make electric cars in the future on its terms. Last year, Subaru said they would change how they make green cars locally. First, Subaru said it would make more gears for its vehicles with Toyota’s hybrid drivetrains. Second, Subaru will start making all-electric cars at its Yakima and Kizami plants in 2027 or later. Last Monday, Osaki said that Subaru will start making electric vehicles (EVs) at Yakima in 2025, but at twice the first planned rate. Osaki said that Subaru had initially planned to build Yakima to be able to make up to 100,000 electric vehicles per year, but that number has now been raised to 200,000. In addition to the 200,000 EVs that can be made at Kizami, Subaru can make up to 400,000 yearly at two locations starting in 2028. Osaki said that the changes to production would allow the automaker to make as many EVs, hybrids, and traditional internal-combustion vehicles as the market and regulators require, even though these future EVs will probably be made in Japan and therefore won’t be eligible for tax breaks in the U.S. Nonetheless, he stressed the need for a swift transition to growth once more information about the future became available.
