Four-wheel-drive specialist carmaker Subaru has finally dipped its toe into the world of battery electric vehicles (BEV). Noticeably late to the EV party, the maker of cars powered by boxer 4WD powertrains has collaborated with Toyota to produce the Solterra, its first battery electric vehicle as the brand plays catch-up with the rest of the industry. The name comes from ‘Sol’ meaning ‘sun’ and ‘terra’ meaning ‘earth.’
Earlier this month in Tokyo, company CEO Tomomi Nakamura unveiled the Solterra, a sister SUV to the Toyota bZ4X which debuted a week earlier than the Subaru. While both electric SUVs sit on the same EV-dedicated ‘e-Subaru Global Platform’ (although it’s the same platform Toyota calls it the e-TNGA), the bodies are subtly but strategically differentiated to generate brand identity for both carmakers. In developing the Solterra, partner Toyota supplied connected and EV technologies, while Subaru, offered its all-wheel-drive technology to the mix.
The Solterra will be sold in the U.S., Europe, China and Japan by mid-2022, along with Toyota’s bZ4X. The two grades available will include the front-driven entry level car with a single motor generating 201 hp and 195 lb ft of torque and a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds. The twin-motor flagship Solterra, which employs four-wheel drive technology developed by Subaru, lifts power to 215 hp, torque to 248 lb-ft and slices its 0-62mph time to 7.7 seconds.
The front-wheel drive version reportedly has a cruising range of 330 miles, while the all-wheel drive version can drive 285 miles on a single charge, but more real world figures would be around 290 and 250 respectively.
Subaru has been collaborating with Toyota for nearly a decade, having co-developed the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ sports cars launched back in 2012. Now, in co-developing both brand’s first-ever EVs, Subaru is further tightening its alliances with Japan’s No 1 carmaker to acclimatize itself to the once-in-a-lifetime shift to BEVs.
“We hope to use the alliance to build up technology and know-how” until the global market shifts fully to battery electric cars, said Nakamura. The CEO believes however that within a few short years, BEVs will be an area in which Subaru directly competes with Toyota and others, so will need to further differentiate.
In early 2020, Subaru was reported as saying that it didn’t see much evidence that Americans were interested in switching to electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids, but now with Toyota’s collaboration, the automaker is looking to boost its market share in the U.S. currently hovering around 4.2% last year.
In a 2020 statement regarding its future lineup, Subaru said it planned to offer EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids that would make up 40% of its global sales by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
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November 28, 2021 at 10:42PM
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Subaru Launches First-Ever Electric Vehicle — The Solterra SUV - Forbes
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