Subaru and Toyota have announced the two car makers will work together to develop a platform for battery electric passenger vehicles and an electric SUV.
Subaru and Toyota will work together to build both a platform suitable for medium and large battery electric vehicles (and derivitave models) and an electric SUV. Like the Toyota 86 and BRZ, the vehicles will be sold under the respective brands.
In a statement announcing the partnership, Subaru said: “By combining their respective strengths, such as the all-wheel-drive technologies that Subaru has cultivated over many years and the vehicle electrification technologies that Toyota is employing to bring together other companies that share its aspirations, the two companies intend to take up the challenge of creating attractive products with appeal that only BEVs can offer”.
According to Subaru and Toyota, the “automotive industry is in the midst of a once-in-a-century period of profound transformation” and so both companies believe that partnerships like this one are the best way forward. Earlier this week, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW announced a similar partnership around the production of electric powertrains.
Subaru and Toyota first announced a business collaboration back in 2005 with the BRZ and Toyota 86 the best-known result of that collaboration. But Subaru claims its XV plug-in hybrid (2012) was heavily influenced by Toyota’s hybrid electric vehicle know-how.
