Japanese legacy automaker Subaru has just disclosed its plans to leverage its long-standing partnership with Toyota to boost its current one-model electric vehicle lineup.
Subaru, Toyota to co-develop electric SUVs
Subaru and Toyota have further solidified their partnership with a new deal to co-develop three new electric crossovers over the next 2 years, Automotive News reports, citing Subaru Chief Executive Atsushi Osaki’s remarks during an earnings presentation on Monday.
According to the Subaru boss, partnering with Toyota for the planned three new electric crossovers is crucial as it remains risky for the company to pursue the uncertain electric vehicle space alone.
“At the moment, it is quite difficult to predict how things will go from here with EVs. We have held talks with Toyota and have agreed that it is better to reduce risks through joint development.”
Subaru Chief Executive Atsushi Osaki
The partnership makes sense, considering Toyota is substantially larger than Subaru. Moreover, it also holds a 20% stake in the smaller automaker. Therefore, it is indeed strategic for Subaru to rely on its more established partner.
Subaru’s EV sales in 2023
Subaru only has one electric vehicle offering, the Solterra electric SUV.
In 2023, the Subaru Solterra only sold a total of 14,000 units. Of that total, US customers accounted for 8,872 units.
This sales result only represents 1.6% of the automaker’s overall global vehicle sales of 852,000 units last year.
New EV strategy
As Subaru’s EV sales continue to decline in the US, it has developed a new strategy to rebound.
Under CEO Osaki’s new leadership, the Japanese automaker now aims to have EVs account for 50% (or about 600,000 units) of its vehicle sales by 2030. It indicates a notable increase from the prior 40% target, including the sales of hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
In the US market, the Japanese automaker seeks to sell 400,000 EVs in 2028. It represents a more than 4,400% increase from the 8,872 Solterra models sold in 2023.
The new strategy includes launching three new all-electric SUVs by the end of 2026, with plans to add four more EVs by the end of 2028.
Although Subaru has intensified its EV push, CEO Osaki asserted that the automaker has no plans to give up traditional internal combustion engine-powered cars.
“While we have steered toward EVs, we find it important to sell internal combustion products at the same time. So, we already have plans to expand our hybrid product lineup.”
Subaru Chief Executive Atsushi Osaki
As part of these plans, Subaru will develop a next-gen hybrid system for the Crosstrek on top of the new Forester.
Despite having legions of dedicated fans, it remains challenging for Subaru to work on electric vehicle development alone. It requires substantial investment and time, prompting the automaker to want to alleviate them. All that said, leveraging Toyota’s expertise in research and development will undoubtedly aid Subaru in expanding its EV portfolio amid the global shift to clean mobility.
