Subaru, the automobile manufacturing division of Japan-based transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, has announced an ambitious plan to accelerate its shift from internal combustion engines (ICEs) to EVs. Under the guidance of new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Atsushi Osaki, Subaru has decided to speed up its electrification efforts to cut its carbon footprints worldwide. It has set a goal to achieve at least 50 per cent of its overall sales from battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by the end of current decade. Considering the Japanese automaker’s prediction of 1.2 million annual sales in 2030, we can easily estimate that the company is aiming to sell at least 600,000 BEVs per annum by that time.

It is worth noting here that in May this year, the company announced that it wanted to achieve roughly 400,000 BEV sales per annum by 2028. Japanese companies have been lagging behind in terms of electric vehicles with Toyota still not focussed on launching EVs.

Subaru’s new plan marks a sweeping change to its previous efforts. Subaru, under new CEO Osaki, has actually acknowledged the fact that the general automobile market is changing fast due to electrification everywhere, particularly in the U.S. market, which is the biggest as well as most profitable market for the Japanese automaker. In other words, the automaker is now well aware of the fact that it can’t delay electrification of vehicles any longer.

Revealing the new plan, Osaki said, “The U.S. market is shifting to electrification at a rapid clip, and the situation has changed considerably in just the past few months. In light of the speed of the EV shift in the U.S., we think it is the time to decide on BEV production in the U.S.”

Subaru will not only focus on increasing the volume of existing EVs, instead it will produce and launch new all-electric models. It has plans to launch eight all-electric models in the next few years. Previously, the company had plans to launch only four new models. At present, the company has only one all-electric model, called the Subaru Solterra, which is a direct cousin of the Toyota bZ4X.

Some of the planned new BEVs will be produced locally in the U.S., while the remaining models will be produced in Japan. Subaru's new 3-row, all-electric SUV will be built in Kentucky by Toyota, starting in 2025. The partnership between Subaru and Toyota isn’t accidental, as Toyota owns around 20 per cent of Subaru business.