Subaru is gearing up to give its popular Crosstrek SUV a hybrid option, and it’ll borrow from the best to do it.
According to a report from Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun, the new Crosstrek Hybrid will feature a traditional Subaru boxer engine mated to a version of the hybrid technology in the Toyota range.
It reports the Forester will follow, once again featuring technology borrowed from Toyota.
That’s in line with what we’ve heard from Automotive News, which in November 2023 quoted Subaru of America COO Jeff Walters as saying the electrified Forester will feature a “a Toyota-sourced battery [and electrical parts] joined with a Boxer engine”.
They won’t be the first Subaru hybrids to borrow from Toyota; the Crosstrek PHEV previously offered in the USA also used Toyota technology.
Subaru in 2023 announced revised electrifications plans that will eventually see it offering a total of eight different electric vehicles (EVs) by 2028.
In addition to the EVs, Subaru will begin producing its so-called ‘Next-gen HEV’ models in Japan from around 2025 and in the US from 2026. Subaru CEO Atsushi Osaki also confirmed these models will use Toyota’s petrol-electric hybrid technology.
Subaru previously pledged its EVs and hybrid models would account for 40 per cent of its total global sales by 2030, but it has now revised this figure to 50 per cent.
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