Subaru Still Isn't Sold On Having An All-EV Lineup Is The Best Option

Subaru knows now how customers will accept the all-electric 2023 Solterra compact SUV before it arrives in U.S. showrooms. The all-new Solterra is already sold out for the 2023 model year. Subaru of America says it sold all of its allocation of Solterra EVs in the first 72 hours after opening the reservation system in February.

Customers will now have to wait for the 2024 models to get a new all-electric Subaru all-wheel-drive SUV. What is Subaru's next move toward developing battery electric vehicles with the Solterra's popularity?

Subaru announced recently they are targeting carbon neutrality with hybrid and battery-electric cars set to make up around 40 percent of its global sales in 2030. At the New York Auto Show, Tomomi Nakamura, Subaru Corporation's President, and CEO, told Bloomberg that the automaker is rethinking the speed they may develop new EVs.

Nakamura acknowledged the acceleration toward EVs he'd seen in the U.S. market and regulations shift over the past two years. He said they would announce a new roadmap to Subaru's latest technology in April.

In a report from Automotive News, Nakamura said, "We know that we have to shift or accelerate this plan. Based on how the market receives the new Solterra EV, we can plan what kind of ratios (50-60 percent) we should target for EVs and hybrids."

Nakamura told Bloomberg that the Japanese automaker is exploring the potential that other options, such as cars powered by carbon-neutral fuels, may have a role to play in lowering fleet emissions.

Subaru recently partnered with Toyota and Mazda to develop engines that burn hydrogen and different carbon-neutral fuels. The vehicles recently participated in a road race in Japan.

Subaru is experimenting with tweaking their Boxer engines to run on new fuels to retain technologies they've built up over decades. "As no one knows what the future will look like," Nakamura said, "the question right now is whether it's the right move to eliminate the internal combustion engine."

What will it mean for Subaru SUV shoppers in the next ten years?

Subaru's goal of 40 percent global sales or more by 2030 to be battery-electric vehicles or Hybrid-electric models will mean the automaker will bring new Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, and Ascent SUV hybrid and plug-in hybrid models to the U.S. market by mid-2025-2030.

A recent report from Auto Express says Subaru Corporation planned to launch an electric vehicle using an adapted version of its Global Platform this year, but the project has now been scrapped. The report gave no other details on the new EV.

Subaru is not sold on having an all-electric lineup anytime soon. By the first half of the 2030s, customers will see all Subaru vehicles having some form of electrification technology, probably hybrid, and plug-in hybrids. Stay tuned.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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