Electric vehicles offer numerous – and significant – advantages over combustion-powered cars and trucks. Still, EVs have been a tough sell, particularly in the U.S., where many drivers still prefer gasoline-powered vehicles. This resistance has pushed automakers to reevaluate their future product plans, including Subaru, which is making an important shift.
Changing Gears, Reallocating Investments
Subaru Solterra 2025 Price UpdatesSubaru
As reported by Just-Auto.com, this Japanese manufacturer that’s famed for offering standard all-wheel drive on nearly every one of its models, is “set to scale back near-term electric vehicle investment,” instead, focusing on hybrids, which likely have much broader appeal, especially in North America. Subaru’s overall investment of $9.7 billion (1.5 trillion yen) through 2030 is expected to remain unchanged, but where this money is being spent is what’s changing.
“Given the increasing demand for hybrids and the reappraisal of internal-combustion engines, it is appropriate to delay the timing of full-scale EV mass production investment,” said the automaker’s president, Atsushi Osaki, during an earnings briefing.
Subaru Solterra 2025 Price UpdatesSubaru
Reportedly, around $1.9 billion of that $9.7 billion total has been spent. Where the remainder of that total will be allocated, however, is under review, though Subaru has not shared any specifics about this.
EVs Are Still Under Development
Subaru Solterra 2025 Price UpdatesSubaru
Electric vehicles are still part of Subaru’s future product plans. As with the Toyota bZ all-electric SUV and the closely related Solterra, these two automakers are still collaborating on at least four upcoming electric SUVs. These are still reportedly on track to hit the road by the end of 2026. Four other EVs that are being developed in house, however, could be delayed. These models were expected to launch in 2028.
Aside from questions surrounding the popularity of EVs, U.S. tariffs are another major concern for Subaru. The company imports a huge number of vehicles from Japan, and it’s likely many of the firm’s upcoming EVs would be built there, too. Massive import duties almost certainly play a role in the company reallocating its investments.
2024 Subaru Solterra SUVvia Subaru
Subaru is far from the only automaker altering its EV plans. GM just killed its BrightDrop vans, Stellantis scrapped its all-electric Ram truck, and Acura killed off the ZDX battery-powered SUV. Beyond that, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Ford and others are all reworking their EV strategies. This seems to indicate that Subaru is doing the right thing by adapting to changing market conditions, just like its major rivals.
Source: Just-Auto.com
