Subaru is planning to build a new factory in Japan, which will run exclusively on electric cars, according to Reuters. This will be the first such factory for Subaru. By 2025, the company will set up simultaneous production of fuel and battery cars, and by 2027 it will open a production line just for electric cars. With their help, Subaru hopes to strengthen its position in its most important market – the U.S., where “green” cars are rapidly gaining popularity.
Subaru is the first Japanese brand that has officially announced the construction of a plant exclusively for electric cars. It will be part of an electrification plan in which the manufacturer is investing 250 billion yen ($1.93 billion) over the next five years. Cars assembled at the new plant will be exported overseas, Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura said: they will probably be sold in other markets besides the U.S.
Subaru shared plans for the new plant the same day it began taking orders for its first production electric car, the Solterra. The crossover was developed with Toyota, which will produce it, and is the “twin brother” of the electric Toyota bZ4X. The Solterra with a twin-engine powertrain “top” version develops 218 horsepower, and a 71.4-kilowatt-hour battery is located under the floor, providing up to 460 kilometers of travel on the Japanese WLTC cycle.
If everything goes according to plan, the Solterra should be put into production in the middle of 2022. It will be delivered to markets in Europe, China, the US, and Canada.
Meanwhile, Subaru’s revenues declined, with operating profit falling 12 percent to 90.45 billion yen ($701 million) over the past fiscal year. This year, the company hopes to boost profits to 200 billion yen.