Mitsubishi Wants An Electric Pickup, Subaru Says A New 3-Row EV Is Their Next Launch

Does Subaru need a new hybrid electric compact or midsize pickup in its all-wheel-drive lineup or a new electric 3-Row SUV? According to a new report from Automotive News (by subscription), a new Subaru electric 3-Row SUV is its top priority. A new Subaru pickup will have to wait.

The Automotive News report says in the future, Mitsubishi could bring an electric pickup to the U.S. if it can figure out a way around the 25 percent tariff levied on imported light trucks. "There is demand for environmentally friendly pickups with shorter driving range," Mitsubishi CEO Takao Kato said in March.

A new Subaru 3-Row electric SUV is coming.

But Subaru focuses on a new battery electric 3-Row SUV, not a hybrid or electric pickup. Subaru's future product plan includes widening its U.S. product offerings to include more battery-electric vehicles while continuing to invest in its combustion-powered models.

Mitsubishi Motors offers only one electrified model in the U.S., a plug-in hybrid variant of its bestselling Outlander crossover. Subaru has just one electric vehicle, the Solterra compact SUV, on the market. 

The recent Automotive News report says Subaru will lean on Toyota to build its second EV for the U.S., a three-row electric crossover built in Kentucky.

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"Our main electrification strategy centers on strong hybrids and electric vehicles and introducing such models in the U.S. by 2025," Tomoaki Emori, Subaru corporate planning division senior vice president, said this year.

Subaru’s CEO, Atsushi Osaki, said Subaru was still considering its approach. "As a matter of course, we have been collaborating with Toyota on BEVs for a long time," Osaki said. "So, we will make use of that know-how in producing BEVs.”

Subaru recently announced the new accelerated EV plan. Osaki also said Subaru will expand its EV lineup to eight models, up from an earlier envisioned plan of four new EV models. The new EV goals are significantly ramping up from Subaru's previous electrification plan. 

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Until then, Subaru Corporation will expand its EV relationship with Toyota, who, in a joint venture, will build a new three-row electric crossover for Subaru to join the Solterra in Subaru's U.S. lineup.

Subaru's new 3-Row electric SUV is unnamed and is expected to begin production in 2025 at Toyota's assembly plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. Automotive News says the Ascent-size EV, built on the brand's e-Subaru Global Platform, will use batteries supplied from Toyota's plant under construction in Liberty, N.C. That should allow the crossover to qualify for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

Subaru needs a compact, midsize, hybrid, or electric pickup in its all-wheel-drive lineup, but a new electric 3-Row SUV is its top priority. The new EV is coming by 2025 for U.S. families. Stay tuned. 

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Denis Flierl brings over thirty years of combined auto industry and automotive journalism experience to Torque News readers. He is an accredited Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP) member. The last twelve years have been spent with Torque News, covering Subaru vehicles and the latest news. Check back daily for his expert Subaru analysis. You'll find the latest stories on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

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