Subaru unveils the Solterra, its first all-electric car, developed with Toyota
The technological shift away from inner combustion engines poses a problem for smaller carmakers, corresponding to Subaru, which are much less capable of fund costly improvement of EVs. On the identical time, it is a chance for top-tier automakers, corresponding to Toyota, to attract smaller rivals nearer.
“The EV market is just not mature but, so we’ll reply to it by deepening our cooperation with Toyota,” Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura mentioned throughout a launch occasion.
For now, he mentioned, the Solterra could be constructed by Toyota in Japan and Subaru could transfer manufacturing to its major market, the USA, when it had adequate gross sales quantity.
Car gross sales at Subaru are lower than a tenth of these at Toyota, the world’s largest automaker by manufacturing quantity.
The front-wheel drive Solterra has a cruising vary of 530 km (329 miles), whereas the all-wheel drive model can drive 460 km on a single cost, Subaru mentioned in a press launch.
Toyota owns a fifth of Subaru and has a 5% stake in Mazda Motor Corp, which plans to launch 13 electrified automobiles by 2025, together with hybrids and BEVs that may incorporate Toyota know-how.