Japan’s Subaru Corporation aims to sell 40% of its vehicles as electric or hybrid by 2030.
It says “electrification technologies” will apply to all Subaru vehicles sold worldwide by the first half of the 2030s, which includes a mix of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).
Subaru president Tomomi Nakamura says the company will work to fulfil its social responsibilities such as protecting the global environment,
Climate change will have significant impacts on societies and economies, and Subaru says it considers addressing this problem as a pressing issue.
“Aside from the CO2 emissions reduction goals for vehicles, we are advancing our environmental initiatives in the aim of reducing direct CO2 emissions from Subaru Group factories, offices, etc. to 30% below FYE2017 levels by FYE2031.”
By 2050, Subaru plans to reduce average well-to-wheel CO2 emissions from new vehicles (in operation) sold worldwide by 90% or more compared to 2010 levels. Well-to-wheel means all emissions from energy production through vehicle operation. For electrified vehicles, this includes emissions from energy sources used for electricity production.
Subaru says e-Boxer hybrids are arriving in New Zealand in both XV and Forester models later this year.
“The launch has been delayed due to huge global demand and the large-scale international markets receiving the bulk of the initial production allocation,” Subaru of New Zealand says.
Meanwhile, Subaru is channelling a huge amount of money into adapting Toyota’s hybrid technology to its vehicles, Engadget reports.
It says Toyota has an 8.7% stake in Subaru, the two jointly developing a pair of electrified cars (one a hybrid) for expected production during the 2020s.
Toyota, Lexus and Kia use the marketing term “self-charging” to describe their petrol-electric hybrids where they use an internal combustion engine (ICE) to charge up the battery rather than charging through an external source such as a plug.
Hybrids vary, a full hybrid able to drive under either its own electric power, petrol or a combination. The hybrid’s electric motor can usually drive the vehicle under full electric power for a relatively short distance, while the mix of engines tends to allow the car to travel considerable distances.
HEVs use an ICE combined with an electric propulsion system to usually improve fuel economy and performance. The petrol engine may power the electric system so that no plug is required to charge up.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have smaller ICE engines than a typical hybrid but these are used only to charge the electric battery (generally lithium ion) when its power is depleted.
In hybrids, electric power is likely to be used for short trips or low speed situations such as in cities (where emission restrictions may also apply), and the ICE engine for long journeys.
Subaru introduced its Stella EV in Japan in 2009 and more recently revealed its Crosstrek PHEV with 27km electric range and an all-electric crossover concept.
