Toyota and Subaru are set to collaborate once more and release 3 more EVs by the year 2026. The two automotive giants have a history of joint ventures dating back to 2005. More than twenty years later, their partnership is more productive than ever.
TOGETHER AGAIN
It’s no surprise that Subaru’s recent collaboration features Toyota once more; after all, Toyota acquired a per centage of Subaru’s shares starting in 2005. Manufacturing EVs seems to be a large undertaking for Subaru, thus needing the help of its big brother, Toyota. “There is a huge risk for us to go it alone in this field. We have held talks with Toyota and have agreed that it is better to reduce risks through joint development,” explained Subaru’s CEO, Atsushi Osaki.
Though Toyota seems the larger of the two, the company is also wary of the current EV market. Currently, EV adaption is gruesomely slow for these automakers who are riding the wave of innovation towards electric vehicles. The current state of the market is not just slow, but high-risk. EV production is costly, even for Toyota, who previously partnered with BMW to release the 2025 Toyota Supra.
THREE MORE TO GO
Subaru’s efforts can be traced to their earlier goal to sell 1.2 million units by the year 2030. Including the Solterra, Subaru plans to achieve this with all 4 collaboration EVs in their lineup, with an additional 4 by 2028. That makes 8 EVs in 6 years!
Through this joint venture, Subaru overall manufacturing process will be largely helped by Toyota’s resources, such as research and development. Furthermore, such collaborations help both companies reduce production costs and manufacturing risks. Now, both manufacture specific models at each other’s factories in Japan. Two of Toyota’s sports models, BRZ and GR86 are built in Subaru’s plant; while Subaru’s EVs, Solterra and bZ4X, are assembled at Toyota’s. Subaru and Toyota will collaborate to build their upcoming 3 EVs in the latter’s US plant.
Neither company has revealed any detailed plans about their upcoming projects. Motortrend released the joint collaboration’s teaser picture last May. Two of the three mystery vehicles look to be SUVs, while the vague appearance of the third vehicle hints at a much smaller size.
This collaboration is only a portion of Subaru’s plans for the near future. The company also plans to eventually transfer its EV production internally by 2025.
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