Subaru and Toyota have been working together for a while now to make cars. Recently, Subaru’s CEO, Atsushi Osaki, told reporters that Subaru and Toyota would work together more closely. They plan to build three new electric SUVs in the next two years.
Osaki said, “Right now, it’s hard to know how things will go with electric cars. It’s risky for us to do it alone. So, we talked to Toyota, and we both agree it’s better to work together and reduce the risks.”
Toyota is much bigger than Subaru and even owns 20% of Subaru. So, it makes sense for Subaru to rely on Toyota’s help. Making new electric cars needs a lot of money and time, which Subaru wants to handle wisely.
Subaru wants to make more Forester SUVs in its Indiana factory. They also want to add hybrid versions. With Toyota’s help, Subaru’s electric cars can get federal tax credits. Subaru makes cars in the US too, but they want to be careful and decide how and where to invest in making more cars.
While Subaru is focusing more on electric cars, they won’t forget about gasoline cars. Osaki said, “Even though we’re moving towards electric cars, we still think selling gasoline cars is important. So, we plan to keep making hybrid cars too.” They’re working on a new hybrid system for the Crosstrek, along with the new Forester.
Subaru had a good year financially. They made over $2.5 billion in net income. Forester sales also went up a lot, selling 48,456 units in the first three months of the year.
