Automotive News reports a promising collaboration between Subaru and Toyota as they announce their strategic partnership in the production of a diverse range of electric and hybrid cars. Subaru and Toyota are demonstrating their strong commitment to the electric vehicle market. Toyota, in particular, will release three more electric SUVs by the end of 2026, paving the way for Subaru’s electric car production in 2028. Along with that, Subaru is working on electric versions of its Crosstrek and Forester SUVs. As the widespread use of electric vehicles (EVs) approaches, smaller automakers are turning to bigger companies for help as they navigate the high start-up costs of creating completely new platforms and powertrains. Subaru has said it will release three new electric SUVs over the next few years to strengthen its relationship with Toyota, which owns 20% of the business. Automotive News says that the ideas were talked about on a recent earnings call. Subaru’s long-term goal is to sell 600,000 electric vehicles (EVs), which would be half of all the cars it sells around the world. The first one will be the Solterra, which is a rebadged Toyota bZ4X. By the end of 2026, three more SUVs should be on the market. Like the Solterra, the next three SUVs will be designed and built together with Toyota. One of these EVs will be made by Toyota in the US, and Subaru will make one in Yajima, Japan. The second one is likely to be a Subaru-branded version of the planned bZ5X, an electric SUV with three rows of seats that will be made at Toyota’s plant in Kentucky starting in 2025. It’s safer to work with other companies before jumping into a new propulsion technology on your own, especially since the market for electric vehicles in the US is still uncertain. Because Subaru is working with Toyota, American-made EVs will be able to get government EV tax credits without Subaru having to change how its American factories are set up. However, Subaru has plans to release four more electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2028. Subaru itself will completely create all of these vehicles. During the earnings call, Subaru said that their goal of selling 400,000 EVs around the world in 2028 is still subject to big rises in demand. That’s a long way from the 14,000 EVs that were sold last year (out of a total of 852,000 Subarus), with 8877 of those cars ending up in US homes. When Japanese companies start making their electric vehicles in 2025, they plan to open a second plant there in 2027 so they can make room for an extra 200,000 EVs each year. Subaru also wants to add hybrid versions of the Crosstrek crossover and the Forester SUV to its range. The Forester will be made in Indiana, and the Crosstrek will be made in Japan. The Legacy has been made at the Indiana plant, but Subaru just said that it will stop making them after the 2025 model year. In 2026, the next hybrid configuration will be put into production in the United States. As Subaru moves toward electric power, we expect to see more hybrids in their range.
