Subaru aims to have battery EVs make up half of its sales by 2030

TOKYO: Subaru will target annual sales of 600,000 battery electric vehicles by 2030 so that they make up 50% of its global sales target, the Japanese automaker said today.

It also said it planned to invest about 1.5 trillion yen (RM48bil) by around the start of next decade in electrification.

"The coming five years to 2028 are a really important period for us to realise those goals," said Atsushi Osaki, chief executive of the company.

Previously, Subaru aimed to have battery EVs and hybrids account for at least two-fifths of annual global sales that are expected to total around 1.2 million vehicles by 2030.

The maker of the Outback crossover said it would aim to sell 400,000 battery EVs in the United States in 2028, and expand its battery-powered lineup to eight models by the end of that year.

It currently makes its first mass-produced EV, the Solterra, at Toyota's Motomachi plant, and will introduce three new EVs by the end of 2026 and four more by the end of 2028.

With its new target, Subaru, which is known for its dependence on the North American market, followed bigger Japanese automakers such as Toyota in intensifying its electrification effort.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, laid out in June a strategy to better compete in the global battery EV market. It includes an overhaul of its supply chain and the development of batteries to extend car driving ranges.

Subaru, a fifth owned by Toyota, is likely to kick off battery EV production in the United States around 2027 or 2028, Osaki said, a move dictated by the pace at which US consumers are switching to EVs.