Dive Brief:
- Subaru wants battery-electric vehicles to comprise 50% of its total global sales by 2030, the company said Wednesday.
- The automaker aims to sell at least 1.2 million vehicles by the decade's end, including 600,000 or more BEVs. It wants to sell 400,000 BEVs in the U.S. in 2028.
- Subaru will introduce eight BEV models by the end of 2028, including four SUVs by 2026.
Dive Insight:
The announcement marks a shift in strategy, with the automaker ditching earlier plans for battery-electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to comprise 40% of total sales by 2030.
Like other automakers, including Toyota, Subaru is ramping up its electrification plans as competition rises and governments worldwide mandate zero-emission vehicles and adopt other policies to encourage EV adoption.
Subaru will invest nearly $10.5 billion in vehicle electrification by 2030, including more than $1.7 billion in previously announced investments, but its plans could change, depending on how it invests in batteries.
Starting in 2025, the automaker aims to produce 200,000 BEVs annually in Japan. It plans to build a similar number of BEVs in the U.S. by 2028.
Thanks to increased vehicle sales and other factors, Subaru’s consolidated revenue rose to $7 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, a 29.7% year-over-year increase. Its operating margin was 7.8% in Q1 FY 2024, up from 4.4% during the same period last year.
Subaru sold 236,000 vehicles in Q1 FY 2024, a 20.3% increase over the same period last year. The automaker produced 243,000 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of FY 2024, an 18.3% year-over-year increase.
The company’s financial forecast remains the same, with Subaru expecting to earn $29.3 million in FY 2024.
