Subaru has introduced that it’ll launch its first pure-electric mannequin in Europe throughout the first half of the 2020s.
The model’s upcoming EV, which will probably be an SUV, will share its platform, drivetrain expertise and physique panels with the not too long ago unveiled Toyota BZ SUV, changing into one other competitor for the likes of the Volkswagen ID.4 and upcoming Ioniq 5.
Just like the Toyota BZ, technical particulars haven’t but been confirmed, though we do know that it’ll be based mostly on the pair’s collectively developed e-TNGA electrical automobile platform. Subaru has additionally given us a tough indication of the SUV’s measurement, saying it’ll have comparable dimensions to the current-generation Forester.
Toyota and Subaru have additionally stated the brand new platform will play to each manufacturers’ strengths. As such, the brand new C-segment SUV will mix Toyota’s expertise with electrical expertise with Subaru’s four-wheel-drive experience.
Nevertheless, the platform will even be extremely adaptable, permitting both entrance, rear or four-wheel drive. It’ll be scalable too – Toyota and Subaru have already got a broad vary of fashions deliberate for the underpinnings, together with a bigger D-segment SUV and a saloon automobile.
The platform options an electrical motor on the entrance axle and a low-mounted battery pack, presumably to learn the automobile’s weight distribution and packaging. An idea sculpture previewing the mannequin was revealed earlier in 2020.
The brand new electrical platform will assist Subaru obtain its long-term emissions objectives. By 2030, the Japanese producer is aiming for all-electric or hybrid-electric automobiles to account for not less than 40 p.c of its international gross sales figures.
Subaru began its shift in direction of electrification late final yr, by launching new hybrid variants of the XV and Forester – the latter of which options the model’s e-Boxer PHEV powertrain. By 2050, Subaru hopes to cut back the common CO2 emissions of its new automobiles by 90 p.c, when in comparison with 2010. The model had deliberate to launch an electrical car utilizing an tailored model of its World Platform in 2021, however plans for that car have now been scrapped.
What do you make of Subaru’s new pure-electric SUV? Tell us within the feedback part beneath…
