Subaru Will Roll Out Hybrid by 2012

Subaru is already plotting how it will meet the Obama administration’s new fuel standards, and the plan involves the addition of a gas-electric hybrid to the automaker’s lineup.

Ikuo Mori, the president and CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries, which owns Subaru, told the Wall Street Journal that the automaker will use Toyota’s technology to add a hybrid by 2011 or 2012. Toyota owns a 16% stake in Subaru, but the partnership has included minimal exchanges of hybrid technology.

Still, Mori plainly stated that Subaru would “take advantage” of the alliance with Toyota to move forward on the new hybrid. The company will also develop a new diesel engine for several of its models, and the all-electric R1e seems likelier to reach the U.S. as Subaru plans to meet the new emissions rules.

Subaru Prius Coming in 2012 (Autopia)

Comments

Great. Now where's the diesel?

Great, R1e. But wait, that's a K-Car, meaning it would not come over here.

since subaru is sticking w/awd for all models, i don't understand why they don't take a different approach. they could electrify the rear axle, using an electric motor to power those wheels and use a smaller boxer-4 to power the front wheels.

the electric motor in the rear could propel the vehicle in city driving, provide traction when needed, and also provide power boosts when faster acceleration is needed. then again..i'm not an engineer.

Cody,

The coding for synchronizing the electric powered wheels and gas powered wheels are big issues. It is no easy task, and could fail miserably.

Diesel and engine cutoff technology could get mileage way up without adding the cost of a hybrid. There's enough room for marginal efficiency increases to stay competitive on mileage.