The Japanese company Subaru presented on Thursday its first all-electric vehicle, the Solterra SUV, which is the result of a project developed in the last two years together with Toyota Motor, its largest shareholder, Reuters reports.
The launch of the SUV is taking place amid accelerated demand for electric vehicles as nations around the world tighten environmental regulations to reduce carbon emissions.
Toyota unveiled its version of a battery-powered electric vehicle, the bZ4X, last month.
The technological transition from internal combustion engines is a challenge for smaller carmakers such as Subaru, which are less able to finance the costly development of electric vehicles. At the same time, it is an opportunity for top car manufacturers, such as Toyota, to get closer to smaller rivals.
“The electric vehicle market is not yet mature, so we will respond to this by deepening our cooperation with Toyota,” Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura said during a launch event.
For now, he said, the Solterra will be built by Toyota in Japan, and Subaru could move production to its main market, the United States, when it has sufficient sales volume.
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-300×246.jpeg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-1024×840.jpeg” loading=”lazy” class=”wp-image-456411″ alt=”” width=”650″ height=”533″ srcset=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-300×246.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-1024×840.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-768×630.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1.jpeg 1200w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px” src=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-300×246.jpeg”/>
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-300×246.jpeg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-1024×840.jpeg” loading=”lazy” class=”wp-image-456411″ src=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-300×246.jpeg” alt=”” width=”650″ height=”533″ srcset=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-300×246.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-1024×840.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1-768×630.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-1.jpeg 1200w” sizes=”(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px”/>
Toyota, a pioneer of hybrid electric cars but lagging behind in the all-electric vehicle market, plans to have a range of 15 BEV models by 2025.
Toyota will also spend $ 13.5 billion over the next decade to expand car battery production capacity.
Subaru’s vehicle sales are less than a tenth that of Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker by volume of production.
The front-wheel drive Solterra has a range of 530 km, while the all-wheel drive version can cover 460 km on a single load, Subaru said in a press release.
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-300×246.jpeg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-1024×840.jpeg” loading=”lazy” class=”wp-image-456410″ alt=”” width=”650″ height=”533″ srcset=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-300×246.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-1024×840.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-768×630.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2.jpeg 1200w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px” src=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-300×246.jpeg”/>
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-300×246.jpeg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-1024×840.jpeg” loading=”lazy” class=”wp-image-456410″ src=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-300×246.jpeg” alt=”” width=”650″ height=”533″ srcset=”https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-300×246.jpeg 300w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-1024×840.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2-768×630.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.g4media.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soltera-2.jpeg 1200w” sizes=”(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px”/>
Toyota owns a fifth of Subaru and a 5% stake in Mazda Motor, which plans to launch 13 electric vehicles by 2025, including hybrids and BEVs that will incorporate Toyota technology.
–
