In a bold move for the highly competitive auto industry, Subaru has teamed up with Toyota for the second time to develop an all-electric SUV to add to their global electric vehicle lineup.
What's happening?
In a bid to gain a larger share of the global EV market, the two automakers announced that their new co-developed all-electric SUV will launch in North America, Europe, and Japan in 2026, according to Electrek.
The companies first collaborated in 2022 on Toyota's all-electric bZ4X and Subaru's all-electric Solterra. Both models were built on the same electric Toyota New Global Architecture (e-TNGA) platform but with specific branding for each automaker.
Now, Subaru and Toyota are putting their heads together once again to unveil this new all-electric SUV — with production expected to begin in January 2026 at Subaru's Yajima plant in Japan. To reduce costs, the electric SUV will keep some parts from the bZ4X and Solterra models, per Electrek.
For Subaru, this new vehicle helps it achieve its goal of having 50% of its global sales — around 600,000 cars — be all-electric by 2030. It's a significant jump from its previous goal of having 40% of global sales be hybrid-electric or all-electric vehicles.
According to CBT News, Subaru's CEO spoke on the importance of collaboration, saying: "There is a huge risk for us to go it alone in this field."
Why is this continued collaboration encouraging?
In a market dominated by Tesla — a brand with a lot of baggage — the more EV options there are, especially from companies like Subaru and Toyota that have brand loyalty, the more likely people will be to switch from traditional cars.
Subaru ranked second in brand loyalty among SUV drivers in J.D. Power's annual brand loyalty survey, and Toyota is the world's biggest automaker by sales. An all-electric SUV touched by both could go a long way in making up ground in an increasingly competitive market.
From the consumer's side, switching to an EV like Subaru and Toyota's new model saves drivers money on maintenance and gas over the lifetime of the vehicle.
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Cost 💰 Not to mention, driving off the lot in a new EV benefits the planet as well as pocketbooks. Whereas a typical car produces over 10,000 pounds of carbon pollution annually, EVs produce no tailpipe pollution.
What is Subaru's overall sustainability plan?
Aside from having 50% of its global sales be all-electric by 2030, Subaru has numerous lofty sustainability goals and focus areas to help the planet.
For example, all Subaru products are manufactured in "zero-landfill" production plants, and the company and its retailers have collected and recycled more than 13 million pieces of hard-to-recycle waste through TerraCycle.
Additionally, the Subaru Eco-Friendly Retailer Program gives retailers a chance to voluntarily make a positive impact on their community and local environment.
Bottom line: Big companies like Subaru and Toyota putting aside their singular success to collaborate in ways that will help see an entire industry succeed — especially one that benefits the planet — sets a leading example for other companies to follow.
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