Forget about the battle for market share between Ford, GM, and Rivian in the electric pickup truck industry. With Toyota, Subaru, Hyundai, and Kia all introducing new EVs this year, the electric wagon-crossover war is heating up. The latest is Subaru, which took reservations for its anticipated 2023 Solterra EV on Tuesday. The Solterra, the company’s first electric vehicle, will be available in all 50 states this summer.
Customers can pay a $250 refundable reservation fee to choose their preferred store, trim, and color – just a few options that will help Subaru prioritize vehicle variants. Subaru has been hamstrung by a global lack of semiconductor chips, so any insight into future demand is beneficial. Customers will be contacted between April and May 2022 to finalize orders, including pricing, availability, and financing, according to the business.
Subaru also announced a cooperation with EVgo on Tuesday, allowing consumers to use the latter’s public EV charging network. The Subaru Solterra and the Toyota bZ4X, both shown at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show in November, are practically identical. Both the bZ4X and the Solterra are the result of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru to develop a battery-electric vehicle platform. The taillights, for example, are one of the few minor variations between the two vehicles.
The interior of the Solterra resembles that of the Toyota bZ4X. Subaru is responsible for the exterior, chassis, and all-wheel-drive system, which are all hallmarks of the outdoorsy automaker. Solterra is equipped with a Toyota-supplied 71.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that sits low between the axles and is linked with two electric motors that produce 215 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque. Subaru claims that the vehicle’s range is roughly 220 miles and that it can be charged from 0 to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes using DC fast chargers.
The Toyota bZ4X, the automaker’s first electric vehicle under the new bZ brand, will arrive in the United States in mid-2022, with a range of up to 250 miles. The car looks almost comparable to the Subaru Solterra, which debuted alongside the bZ4X at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17. Both the bZ4X and the Solterra are the result of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru to develop a battery-electric vehicle platform. The taillights, for example, are one of the few minor variations between the two vehicles. Even so, a casual observer might have trouble telling the Solterra from the bZ4X.
