Gearing Up For The Age Of EVs, Subaru Competes With A New Strategy

Subaru plans to establish a $272 million seven-story research and development facility in Gunma prefecture, just north of Tokyo, to compete in the future of electric vehicles.

The plan is to open the facility in 2024 to bring about 2,800 of its workers and engineers under the same roof to improve performance while the company is adapting the shift towards EVs.

As for their long term plan, Subaru aims for its EVs to provide up to 40 percent of its worldwide sales by the end of the decade. Its first electric model, the Solterra, will be launched next year in Japan, the USA, Canada, Europe, and China. 

The Solterra comes from the partnership with Toyota, where it will be built on a dedicated EV platform, e-Subaru Global Platform, next year, a counterpart of Toyota’s e-TNGA. Announced in 2019, the partnership aims to combine modules and components with building “different versions of EVs”.

Additionally, Subaru wants to slash CO2 emissions from new vehicles sold worldwide by at least 90% by 2050, compared to 2010 levels.