Subaru 3-Row Electric SUV Will Be Built in the US by Toyota

Toyota will build their own twin three-row SUV, which will share the e-TNGA architecture and components with the Subaru model, and will start production at about the same time. The Toyota-branded car, which will be called bZ5X, unless the Japanese come up with something better and less tongue-twisting, will be the first to enter production, if everything goes according to plan.

The name of the Subaru model has not yet been disclosed. What we do know so far is that it will be one of the four electric crossovers that Subaru is planning to unveil by 2026. The Japanese have a daring target: 40% of the cars sold worldwide should be electric by the end of the decade. They are also targeting an all-electric lineup by the early 2030s.

To be able to receive the two models in the nine-million-square-foot Georgetown production facility, Toyota has been investing hundreds of millions of dollars. It is the plant where they are building the super popular Camry and Camry Hybrid, the RAV4 Hybrid crossover, and Lexus ES sedan.

The carmaker announced they would pour in $461 million to convert the assembly lines, which currently also roll off four- and six-cylinder engines.

The Subaru crossover will reportedly have its battery pack supplied by the battery plant that Toyota is building in Liberty, North Carolina, Automotive News reports (requires subscription). The all-electric crossover should qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

Production should kick off in 2025, with the car hitting the market in the third quarter of the year. The car giant will be investing $5.9 billion in the facility, which will have six lithium-ion battery production lines and will build four hybrid and two electric vehicles.

Subaru also manufactures the Scent, Outback, and Crosstrek crossovers, plus the Legacy sedan, in the United States, in Lafayette, Indiana. But that factory will stay as it is as converting it into an electric cars production facility would make no sense right now and would be too costly. Toyota owns about 20% of Subaru and is trying to work the Subaru's way through the American market.

Back in 2021, Toyota and Subaru partnered up to build the Solterra electric SUV, unveiled one year later. The Solterra is the Subaru-badged version of the Toyota bZ4X. Both were assembled at the Toyota plant in Motomachi, Japan.

There was though, a four-month production gap in production, starting June 2022, due to wheel hub bolts that could loosen under certain driving conditions. They fixed the issue and resumed production in October 2022.