Subaru's First Dedicated EV Factory Is Coming This Decade

May. 14, 2022 4:31 PM ET by Gerhard Horn Industry News / 6 Comments

Until then, Toyota has to build Scooby's EVs for it.

Subaru is extremely late to the EV party. Scooby's first-ever EV was introduced earlier this year, and its first EV assembly line will only be up and running in 2027. How does it manage to build the Solterra, then? The short answer is: it doesn't.

The Solterra results from Subaru and Toyota's partnership and is built alongside the bZ4X at Toyota's Motomachi factory in Japan. If it weren't for Toyota, Subaru would be dead in the water. That will change in the latter half of the decade as Subaru will build a dedicated EV factory next to its Oizumi plant, currently responsible for building transmissions and engines.

Subaru

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According to Automotive News, Subaru's CEO, Tomomi Nakamura, outlined the company's electric future in a recent earnings announcement. This dedicated EV assembly line in Japan will likely cost billions, proving that Subaru is serious about going fully electric. EVs built at this new facility will be exported globally, and given how popular the brand is amongst yoga instructors, the US is undoubtedly on that list.

Nakamura did not provide production figures but stated that EV production would start small and expand over time. Namakura mentioned the current high demand for BEVs and how radically things have changed over the last two years.

"Two or three years ago, US retailers were not asking about EVs at all," Nakamura said. "But in this last year, it's suddenly increased."

Subaru

The next big step in Subaru's electrification strategy is new hybrid models. These next-generation hybrid models will use Toyota technology. These engines will be branded e-Boxers, which Subaru fans will likely appreciate. These next-gen hybrid models, along with future EVs, will cost Subaru an additional $2 billion over the next five years. In short, Scooby will be spending a lot of money in the coming years, and the cars will have to be rather good to make that money back.

In 2027, the EV assembly line will start producing cars, and by the early 2030s, Subaru wants to be fully electric. The Solterra will arrive in the USA later this year, sporting an MSRP of just below $45,000.