Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Electric SUV co-developed by Subaru, Toyota may not appear until 2025

Stephen Edelstein
By

Subaru and Toyota have entered into an agreement to co-develop electric cars, but the first product of that partnership may not appear for several years. Subaru unveiled a mockup of an electric SUV at a technology briefing in Japan, but wouldn’t offer a more specific launch date than “before 2025,” according to Automotive News Europe. What’s more, Subaru’s CEO said the United States will not be a priority for electric models.

Recommended Videos

The mockup had a tall SUV body, with a low roofline and steeply raked rear window, according to Automotive News Europe, giving it a sleeker look than more traditional models like the current Subaru Forester. Black plastic cladding over the wheel arches, similar to the Subaru Crosstrek, is meant to give the vehicle a more rugged appearance. The mockup also had cameras in place of exterior mirrors, according to Automotive News Europe. Some production models, including the Lexus ES and Audi E-Tron, have camera mirrors in certain markets, but the technology is not currently legal in the U.S.

Related

Given that Subaru is only willing to show a design mockup at this time, it’s likely the electric SUV won’t start production until closer to 2025. Subaru is a relatively small automaker, lacking the resources to develop electric cars on its own. That’s why the company is teaming up with Toyota. But Toyota has relatively little experience with battery-electric cars, having focused primarily on hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles until now.

Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura also told Automotive News Europe that the U.S. will not be a priority for the rollout of electric cars. He said only Tesla electric cars sell well in the U.S. and that, while demand for electric cars may increase, it will likely take a while.

Despite Subaru’s association with liberal, tree-hugging customers in the Northeast and Northwest, the automaker’s approach to green cars has been conservative. The only electrified Subaru currently available in the U.S. is a plug-in hybrid version of the Crosstrek, which mates a Subaru engine to a Toyota hybrid system. The plug-in hybrid comes with a substantial price premium over the standard Crosstrek, and doesn’t offer as much electric-only driving range as other plug-in hybrids.

Subaru wants to do better. By 2030, the automaker expects electric cars and plug-in hybrids to make up 40 percent of its global sales, according to Automotive News Europe. By the mid 2030s, Subaru will have a hybrid or all-electric powertrain available in every model, Automotive News Europe reported. That will likely be necessary to meet stricter global emissions standards. Subaru will likely continue to borrow hybrid powertrain tech from Toyota.

In addition to hybrids and electric cars, Subaru and Toyota will also launch a new version of their jointly developed sports car. This will replace the current Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86, which have been around since the 2021 model year and are due for a redesign.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV first drive review: a better electric SUV
Front three quarter view of the 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV.

With EV production ramping up, automakers can now shift attention to something more fun: making EVs that are engaging to drive, the kind that encourage you to take the long way home. Mercedes-Benz is putting its best people on the job.

For more than 50 years, AMG has been turning Mercedes luxury cars into race cars and hot rods—and the performance division is now working its magic on EVs. We’ve already gotten AMG versions of the Mercedes-Benz EQS and EQE sedans, but AMG is now upping the difficulty level with an electric SUV.

Read more
Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is old-school luxury — electrified
Front three quarter view of the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV.

Mercedes-Benz is preparing for an electric future with its EQ models, a line of EVs with futuristic aerodynamic styling and all of the latest infotainment tech. With several EQ models already in production, Mercedes is shifting focus to more traditional luxury.
The Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is the first all-electric vehicle from Maybach, the ultra-luxury subbrand of Mercedes. It takes the EQS SUV launched in 2022 and bathes it in opulence, adding more chrome on the outside and more creature comforts on the inside.
Scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. this fall, the Maybach is an unusual EV proposition, taking what is supposed be a forward-thinking design and wrapping it in old-school luxury. Ahead of its launch, Digital Trends got an up-close look at the Maybach EQS SUV to see how Mercedes is trying to balance those two aspects.

Germany's Rolls-Royce goes electric
The Maybach name has great historical significance for Mercedes. Wilhelm Maybach was one of the earliest automotive engineers. He designed the first Mercedes-branded car for the Daimler company (now Daimler-Benz), but struck out on his own after a falling out with company management. His eponymous company built Zeppelin engines, luxury cars, and, during World War II, engines for German military vehicles.
Daimler-Benz took control of Maybach in the 1960s, but left the passenger-car business dormant. Mercedes then revived the Maybach name in the early 2000s as a competitor to the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, both of which are owned by rival German automakers. Given Wilhelm Maybach's history with Mercedes, it essentially brought things full circle.
The 21st-century Maybach brand started out with standalone models in the form of the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62 sedans (as well as the stunning Exelero prototype), but production ended in 2012 amid dwindling sales. Mercedes then switched to making Maybach-branded versions of existing models like the S-Class sedan and GLS-Class SUV, a pattern that continues with the Maybach EQS SUV.

Read more
Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV first drive review: ’90s look, cutting-edge tech
Front three quarter view of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the oldest automakers in existence, but it's been among the quickest to launch a lineup of electric cars. It may not have the freshness of a startup, but what it does have are actual cars to sell to customers.

The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is the middle child of Mercedes' electric SUV lineup, slotting between the entry-level EQB and the flagship EQS SUV, and targeting electric luxury SUVs like the Audi E-Tron, BMW iX, and Cadillac Lyriq. Like the EQS, the EQE SUV is based on an existing sedan, hence the "SUV" suffix. In a previous first drive, we found the EQE sedan to be a good balance between luxury and livability, giving the SUV version a lot to live up to.

Read more