Subaru has confirmed that it will launch a new, all-electric model in the European market soon. Exact dates have yet to be confirmed and details are thin, but Subaru says that it will be a Forester-sized crossover that shares a platform with Toyota.
Given that both Toyota and Lexus last week announced their own electric crossovers, we can safely assume that the Subaru will share much of what's under the skin. What we know of those cars is that they're underpinned by Toyota's e-TNGA modular architecture for EVs. The platform can vary in size to accommodate vehicle and battery requirements. It can also accommodate front-, rear- or all-wheel-drive systems.
Toyota is finally ready to dive headfirst into the rapidly expanding electric vehicle segment. The giant Japanese automaker will kick off its EV charge first in Europe with a new electric sport utility vehicle that will ride on a platform the company calls e-TNGA (we think that's short for electric-Toyota New Global Architecture).
This SUV will be the first of six planned electric vehicles coming soon from Toyota. Best we can tell, this is the same vehicle that the automaker teased back in the summer of 2019 when it announced its partnership with Subaru. At the time, the company said the EV would be about the size of a RAV4 or Forester, which matches the information released with this latest announcement. The e-TNGA platform can support front-, rear- or all-wheel drive and can be stretched or shrunk with modular battery modules to support various vehicle designs and requirements.
Identifying a new or a late-model Lexus is child's play: Look for the giant spindle-shaped grille. It's a styling cue that defines all of its recent models, and designing an electric car is evidently not an excuse to get rid of it. Lexus published a dark teaser image that previews an electric concept that will usher in its next design language.
Like parent company Toyota, Lexus has long resisted the shift towards electric cars by fervently arguing hybrids make more sense. But, as even its home country mulls a blanket ban on internal combustion technology, it's left with no choice but to go electric. It already sells a battery-powered variant of the UX in Europe, but the concept it previewed on its social channels was designed as an electric car from the get-go.
Kawasaki hinted its future range of motorcycles will include a hybrid model. It's busily developing one of the industry's first gasoline-electric two-wheelers, and it released a video to explain how the technology works.
Pay no attention to the sci-fi three-wheeler leaning into a turn at the beginning of the film; the hybrid bike won't look anything like it, for better or worse. We haven't seen its full design yet, but the firm explained it's being developed to switch among gasoline, electric and hybrid power. It relies on an armada of sensors to identify the type of road it's traveling on and adjust its powertrain accordingly. For example, the software charges the battery pack while the bike is traveling on the highway, shuts off the gasoline engine when it rides through a city core, and leverages both power sources on a twisty road. Hybrid cars have been doing this for years.
There isn't much to discuss on the surface here, but news that Honda is preparing its second electric car is of great interest to us. The company's first EV — the Honda E — is not sold in America, and based on how Honda is framing this car, it won't be sold in the U.S. either.
Honda's teaser image is a preview of a concept car that will be fully revealed at the Beijing Motor Show. Honda says it indicates "the direction of the future mass-production model of the Honda brand's first EV to be introduced in China." The teaser is posted to Honda's global news site, but not its North American site, suggesting even further that this car isn't meant for us.
UTSUNOMIYA, Japan — Many automakers are betting on sedans and SUVs in the switch to electric cars. And Tesla is only now realizing that it needs a cheaper, smaller hatchback for overseas markets. But Honda already has that car, deciding smaller is better for its first-ever all-battery EV.
The Honda e was released in Europe earlier this month. It's an upscale, compact model meant solely for city driving. That contrasts with Tesla, whose Model 3 sedan dominates the battery EV market, and others such as Audi AG and Hyundai that are focusing more on SUVs with long driving ranges.
Tesla has signed a three-year pricing deal with Japan's Panasonic Corp to manufacture and supply lithium-ion battery cells at the Gigafactory in Nevada, the electric carmaker disclosed in a filing on Tuesday.
Tesla and Panasonic have been reported to be in talks to expand the battery joint venture's capacity.