Subaru has confirmed that its first electric vehicle will be available later this year.
The Subaru Solterra was initially scheduled to go on sale in “mid-2023,” but it has now been pushed back to the year’s second quarter.
Subaru Australia looks forward to launching the Subaru Solterra in the second half of 2023. With global, industry-wide supply constraints and strong demand for Subaru vehicles, at times there may be a slight adjustment to the arrival times of new products, as experienced with the Solterra.
Spokesperson for Subaru Australia stated on delayed launching
Postponed launch in 2023
The arrival of the electric crossover has been pushed back into 2023, with the company initially stating last year that it would arrive in the first quarter of 2023 before postponing it to mid-year.
Subaru still needs to clarify the impact of international recall activity instead citing supply constraints.
This is in contrast to Toyota, which hinted that the near-identical bZ4X would be delayed until the fourth quarter of 2023 to obtain an updated model.
The reason we delayed, despite some popular opinion and commentary, is that we want to be able to secure supply and the latest spec
Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s Vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations stated on delayed launching
The Solterra is expected to be available only in dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration in the United States.
At the same time, single-motor front-wheel drive editions of it and the bZ4X are available elsewhere.
The dual-motor version produces 160kW of power and 337Nm of torque, which is an increase of 10kW and 71Nm over the single-motor version.
Both models use a 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery with the highest AC charger performance of 6.6kW and a maximum DC charging output of 150kW.
The WLTP range figures for the similar bZ4X put the FWD model at 516km and the AWD model at 470km, with assumed 0-100km/h times of 7.5 seconds and 6.9 seconds, respectively.
Solterrra’s X-Mode AWD control system
The AWD Solterra has a Subaru-developed X-Mode AWD control system, as with other Subaru SUVs. It also comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, whereas the FWD model only has 18s.
The electric crossover is 4690mm long, 1860mm wide, and 1650mm tall, with a 2850mm wheelbase.
That makes it longer and broader than a Forester. The ground clearance is 210mm, 10mm less than the Forester, and the curb weight ranges from 1930kg to 2020kg.
Newest EV architecture by Subaru and Toyota
The Solterra and bZ4X are powered by the latest electric vehicle architecture co-developed by Subaru and Toyota, dubbed the e-Subaru Global Platform by the former and the e-TNGA by the latter.
Subaru and Toyota have encountered difficulties in rolling out these models worldwide.
A crippling wheel hub bolt problem, which could lead the wheels to fall off, sparked a massive recall campaign and stopped production for months as the brands struggled to find a solution.
Toyota USA even offered to purchase cars back.
The Solterra has been recalled in the United States because some vehicles did not receive the proper fix for the hub bolt problem.
