Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the manufacturer of Subaru brand vehicles, will begin selling electric cars overseas as soon as 2013, The Nikkei Japanese newspaper reported Thursday, citing an interview with FHI President Ikuo Mori.
Starting with Europe, the automaker plans to gradually expand sales to North America and elsewhere, depending on demand.
Fuji Heavy sells zero-emissions electric cars based on its Subaru Stella minivan (pictured) to businesses in Japan. For overseas markets, it will develop a version modeled on subcompacts.
By working closely with top shareholder Toyota Motor Corp., Fuji Heavy plans to accelerate its shift to environmentally friendly cars. And to lower costs, “it’s necessary to go global and enjoy the benefits of volume production,” Mori said.
The carmaker has already unveiled plans to launch hybrid vehicles in 2012. In addition, it is considering rolling out plug-in hybrids that can be recharged using standard electrical outlets.
Batteries will be purchased from outside the company, but according to the president, Fuji Heavy could develop and make drive motors, a core component for both electric and hybrid cars, in-house.
Fuji Heavy’s decision to follow in the footsteps of Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. by mass-producing plug-in electric vehicles will likely drive down their prices.
Source: edmunds.com
