Subaru to only sell EVs by mid-2030s

Subaru has confirmed the Outback, the Forester, the BRZ, the WRX STI and every other car it makes will go electric or disappear by the middle of the 2030s.

The Japanese carmaker has set a target to sell only electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide by the first half of that decade, in a move toward its long-term goal of a carbon-free society.

It comes as Subaru has strengthened capital ties with Toyota Motor Corp, and the two partners are jointly developing a pair of electric cars due out during the 2020s. 

Subaru also plans to develop a so-called “strong hybrid” vehicle using Toyota technology and says that by 2030 at least 40 per cent of its cars sold globally will comprise battery electric vehicles or hybrids.

“Although we’re using Toyota technology, we want to make hybrids that are distinctly Subaru,” chief technology officer Tetsuo Onuki says.

“It’s not only about reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We need to further improve vehicle safety and the performance of our all-wheel drive.”