Article: Electric Subaru Due in 2009, One Year Early

[MetroMPG]

From GCC:

Subaru R1e electric -see more images @ Google images

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, (FHI) will start selling electric Subarus in Japan in 2009—a year earlier than initially planned, according to President Ikuo Mori.

FHI currently has 40 units of its electric R1e in operation in Japan in customer trials. The company is targeting first-year sales of its electric car at 100 units.

The price and specifics of the vehicle are not yet disclosed, but FHI said it plans to have its electric cars down to around ¥2 million (US$17,500) apiece by 2012 or 2013. Mori said that by the mid-2010s, mass production will significantly decrease the cost of batteries, enabling electric cars to come down to below ¥1.5 million (US$13,100).

Full item: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...ic-subaru.html

A side note: I wonder if they will in fact sell these vehicles (as the item states), rather than lease them. Call me paranoid, but after the GM EV1 disaster in the US, I pay more attention to that detail.

In addition to the R1e A class "city" car, Subaru also showed a prototype 4-door, 5 passenger battery electric vehicle at the '07 Tokyo auto show:

see more g4e images at ABG

[Thalass]

It's a pity every company other than Tesla make electric cars that are so ugly. Or, at least, odd looking. I honestly don't see why they couldn't take the current model Impreza (which, I note, isn't the best looking anyway), and change the guts of it. I know there are weight issues, and aerodynamic issues. But surely if they want to actually sell these cars, they'd not make them stand out like a sore thumb. "Punishment cars" is what they call it at Tesla.


Having said that: Woo! Subaru rocks! If only I could say my electric subaru was going to be finished a year early... :P

[basjoos]

Its almost funny how the automobile styling department just has to stick a grill on the front of a car, even if it is an EV that doesn't need one. An EV would be an obvious candidate for aero modding (beyond whatever the factory does) since a reduced Cd translates into additional range and/or maximum speed.

[Yaristock]

well don't forget that some evs have the batteries located in the front of the car so yet again the grill adds increased cooling for the obviously hot batteries(unfortunately)

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by Thalass

It's a pity every company other than Tesla make electric cars that are so ugly.

You obviously havn't seen the wrightspeed x1



Originally, however, it's a gasser
http://www.arielatom.com/

But the EV is fast on the acceleration - I've never had tunnel vision like that before

(For the record: I'm partial, the atom has been on my list of awesome dream cars )

[SVOboy]

I don't think it looks too bad,

[Thalass]

Oh yes, the Atom is beautiful! Hand built in england. I'd also like to do an electric conversion of a Murtaya one day. That would kick arse.


But it seems to me that all of the established auto makers keep offering these ugly, half-arsed EVs that are pretty much garanteed to not sell well.